"Beijing - the city of surprises" a Beijing Travel Page by magor65

Do you know that the first private car appeared in Beijing only in 1984? Today there are more than 2 million cars in the city streets, some of them really expensive, and traffic jams are not rare. But of course bicycles are still a very popular means of transport. It is said that there are 200 milllion of bicycles in China, and 20 million new ones produced every year.
Beijing is the city of contrasts - old and new, mystery and materialism, reflection and noise. To us it seemed to be a large building site - working non-stop for 24 hours. Impressive skyscrapers housing modern offices and hotels, breath taking shopping centres replacing old hutongs at surprising pace.
Another thing that we were only theoretically prepared for, were crowds of people, everywhere and at any time of day and night. I remember that after a month spent in China even the centre of my native Wroclaw seemed somehow 'deserted' and peaceful to me.
Although i visited China three years ago my recollections are still vivid enough to be shared. We went to Beijing as my husband was the participant of cartographic conference which was held there in August 2001. But we visited the city (and other places in China) on our own, without any travel agents, using public transport and walking long distances.