Beijing City Guide

Few cities on earth are changing as fast as Beijing, capital city of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Construction cranes rule the horizon, new hotels, shopping malls and commercial plazas (not to mention 37 sports stadiums and 59 training facilities) are springing up at giddying speed and old sectors of the city are being razed and modernised.

Hosting the Olympic Games represents the ultimate statement of China's emergence as a global superpower, and it is determined to make the ‘People's Olympics' the most successful and dazzling ever staged.

Beijing's high-speed physical makeover moves hand-in-hand with a firmly retained grip on China's rich cultural heritage and strict communist social order. A monolithic showcase city, Beijing can give a distorted view of China to foreign visitors.

Its soaring modern architecture and vast international hotels are juxtaposed with grandiose socialist municipal buildings and connected by an often confusing system of broad boulevards and ring roads around the city. Rush hour traffic jams can match (and frequently beat) those of any major world city and the city's air pollution can be eye-watering.

Beyond the modernity, Beijing offers a bountiful hotpot of tourism attractions, including the fast-disappearing hutong (see Excursions), parks, architectural and cultural treasures and exquisite temples - and, of course, serves as a base to visit the Great Wall of China (see Excursions).

Beijing became China's capital in 1421 and was to remain so until the collapse of the imperial regime in 1911. From 1911 to 1949 Beijing suffered, as did the rest of China, from the internecine wars fought between various factions trying to take control of the whole country.

The Japanese invasion in 1931 was followed by a bitter civil war, which finally led to communist supremacy under Mao Zedong and the founding of the People's Republic of China (announced at the Gate of Heavenly Peace at the entrance to the Forbidden City) with Beijing as the capital.

The first 10 years of Mao's rule stabilised a fearful, humiliated nation and strong advances were made in industry, agriculture, education and health care. However, in 1966, Mao launched the Cultural Revolution, a frenzied attack on liberal political, historical and social thought, the cruel legacy of which is still felt across the country.

Following Mao's death in 1976, President Deng Xiaoping gradually opened up China to the outside world, welcoming foreigners as both investors and tourists, and empowering Chinese entrepreneurs to set up businesses.

Though the undoubted political, academic and cultural capital of China, Beijing remained in the commercial shadow of its powerful east coast nemesis, Shanghai, which swallowed a huge proportion of foreign investment flowing into China.

However, after the awarding of the 2008 Olympic Games to Beijing in 2001, the capital has embarked upon a massive infrastructural investment programme and has benefited from higher levels of foreign capital creating jobs, affluence and funds to invest in the city's pre-Olympic redevelopment.

There's only one place to begin exploring the city - Tiananmen Square, where Mao Zedong declared the foundation of the People's Republic. Though more closely identified with the suppression of the student-led pro-democracy protests of 1989, the world's largest public square is an impressive tourism centrepiece, and now features a giant Olympic countdown clock.

To stand (alongside thousands of visitors) and see the imposing majesty of the Forbidden City to the north and the vast portrait of Mao Zedong on the Tiananmen Gate itself is to appreciate the indubitable centrality of the capital to all aspects of the Chinese psyche. For further confirmation, turn around and see the snaking queue of people preparing to enter Chairman Mao's mausoleum.

Beijing is at its best in late spring and, particularly, autumn when crisp, sunny days are accompanied by tree leaves turning glorious shades of red and gold. The searing heat of summer and the biting winds in winter can be extreme.

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Bath City Guide

Bath's hot springs, golden Georgian architecture and beautiful Cotswolds backdrop have been drawing in the crowds for centuries. A vibrant culture and new developments that tastefully complement the city's historic background promise to make Bath an even greater international tourist destination in the years ahead.

UNESCO World Heritage
Surrounded by parkland and rolling hills, situated on a bend of the River Avon and graced by some of the most beautiful architecture in Europe, Bath has the unique distinction of being Britain's only city with UNESCO World Heritage site status. It is also the site of Britain's only hot springs, around which the Romans built a magnificent temple and bathing complex that gave the city its name and still flows with natural hot water. Bath has some of Britain's finest Georgian architecture, and around 5,000 buildings are listed for their architectural merit. The Royal Crescent, the Circus, the Pump Room, the Assembly Rooms and the Pulteney Bridge are all must-see Georgian masterpieces.

Modern Bath
The city is far more than museums and old buildings. It has a lively cultural scene with several festivals, and all kinds of shows, concerts and exhibitions fill up the events calendar. Being a university town, it also has a vibrant nightlife, and the dining scene equals that of almost any other British city. After a long period of gestation and many delays, the city's long-awaited new bath and spa facilities, which use natural thermal water from the same springs that gave rise to the Roman baths nearly two millennia ago, opened in August 2006. This modern therapeutic spa complex has made the city's thermal waters available to its residents and visitors for the first time in 28 years, bringing the modern city back in touch with its historical origins.

The Cotswolds
Adding to the attractiveness of Bath is its lovely surrounding countryside and the Cotswolds area with its gentle hillsides and pretty towns and villages, and the ubiquitous local golden sandstone (found in the most stately city building and the tiniest cottage) is a visual reflection of the city's links with its environs.

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Aix en Provence City Guide

Founded in 123BC by the Romans, Aix-en-Provence draws its origin, its name and, to an extent, its reputation, from its thermal springs. Even to this day, the city boasts no fewer than 23 fountains.

An artistic city
This big student town is still home to many universities and is a centre for the arts, with numerous festivals taking place in Aix-en-Provence all year long, the most famous of which is undoubtedly the International Festival of Lyrical Art and Music.

With the now famous Montagne Sainte Victoire as a backdrop, Aix is surrounded by beautiful scenery, which has inspired many artists and intellectuals, most notoriously Paul Cézanne. It's also a great base to explore the rest of Provence.

History
Aix began as the capital of Provence under the successive rule of the Celts, the Romans, the counts and the monarchs, until 1790, when it became merely the chief town of the area.

Today, one can spend days walking the twisted, cobblestone side streets or exploring the numerous mansion-lined squares. Admire the superb architecture, the legacy of the wealthy merchants and local dignitaries who helped turn this city into the 'Florence of Provence' in the 17th and 18th centuries.

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Adelaide City Guide

For as long as anyone can remember, Adelaide has been nicknamed ‘The City of Churches'. Though the catchphrase plays on one aspect of this genteel city, there is far more to the South Australian capital than church spires, cricket, and cucumber sandwiches. For one thing, unhurried Adelaide (with its obvious English leanings) houses both some wonderful museums, and residents who really know their wines.

Adelaide was settled by the British in 1836 and named in honour of Queen Adelaide, the wife of King William IV. From the start the city was planned, rather than allowed to grow haphazardly. The Surveyor-General of the colony of South Australia, Colonel William Light, was given the task of finding a site for the colony's capital.

The Torrens River meant a good water supply, and the fertile land on either bank was fertile and well drained. The river would separate the city of Adelaide itself from North Adelaide, while parkland would surround the settlements, and be created along the riverbanks.

Migrants were carefully screened before being allowed to sail for South Australia. Unlike elsewhere in Australia, where convicts made up a large percentage of the population, anyone with a criminal record was barred.

Many of the British settlers decided to recreate old England, while others were keen to leave aspects of their former lives behind. Many were Presbyterians, Baptists, Congregationalists, Methodists and Unitarians, who suffered unfavourable conditions back home because their beliefs conflicted with those of the Church of England. The result was an unusual number of churches dotted around the city.

Adelaide sidles up to an inlet of the Southern Ocean, and onto some of Australia's most important winery regions. It's also terribly close to some of the most forbidding countryside in the world - namely the Nullarbor Plain and the Great Victorian Desert. Hence the high temperatures and dusty air you might encounter in summer.

Generally though, Adelaide is a green and pleasant place, sporting plenty of parks, a delightful river, and a city centre laid-out in a grid with airy squares. The official town centre is Victoria Square, while the happening eat streets are Hindley Street, Gouger Street, and Rundle Street (the latter running into the shopping strip of Rundle Mall).

North Terrace, which is lined with galleries and museums and leads to the Botanic Gardens, borders the city to the north. Meanwhile, just north of the city heart, on the banks of the River Torrens, is the Riverside Precinct, the home of the Festival Centre and its performing arts.

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Zurich City Guides

Synonymous with international banking, Zurich (Zürich or, more familiarly, Züri) has a financial and cultural importance that belies its modest size. The largest city in Switzerland, Zurich promotes itself as 'Downtown Switzerland'. The historic centre is compact enough to be explored on foot.

Zurich is located on Switzerland's central plain, with the elevation rising towards the south and the Alps. Positioned at the northern tip of the Zürichsee (Lake Zurich), the city's fine lakeside promenades and expensive houses are prominent and can be spotted along both shores.

Zurich's most familiar sights are, without a doubt, the Fraumünster and Grossmünster churches, which solemnly face each other across the River Limmat. The Old Town spans this river, and some of the most interesting lanes and buildings are clustered along its banks. The nearby Lindenhof was once the site of a Roman customs post and is a good vantage point.

Surrounding the Old Town, the kreis (districts) of Zurich are arranged clockwise around the city centre, with the numbers corresponding to the last digit in the postcode. In summer, the view of the city is beautiful, with the lake reflecting the mountains and clear blue sky. The winter snowfalls bring a magic of their own.

Zurich dates its origins from 15BC, when the Roman customs post of Turicum was founded. By the 10th century, the town had acquired the status of a city. It was at the centre of the Swiss religious Reformation in the 16th century, under the leadership of Huldrych Zwingli. His motto ‘pray and work' was to have a profound effect on this diligent city, which, by the 19th century, had grown into the commercial and financial centre of Switzerland.

The modern Zurich is a city of bankers in a country of banks. This concentration of wealth can most readily be seen along the Bahnhofstrasse, flanked by lime trees. All the major Swiss banks have a presence here, notably at the Paradeplatz, where elegant shops and designer boutiques line the street, interspersed with trendy bars and attractive cafes.

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