Beijing - the mirror of the awakening giant

In the last two decades, Beijing has become the urban laboratory of a country in transition, oscillating between the free market and party monopoly, between the planned economy, corruption and globalization. Although in the desire for modernization as soon as possible in the "northern capital", as the name of the Chinese capital could be translated, a huge number of material remains from various periods of the glorious Chinese history disappeared in the city, the Chinese political leadership began to realize the importance of history and traditions that today placed alongside the most modern achievements of architecture.

 Just like China's desire to become a world superpower, or rather the desire to consolidate its already acquired status as a world superpower, it also manifests itself in an obsession with numbers. In 2008, Beijing hosted the largest Olympic Games ever, last year the Chinese financial metropolis Shanghai organized the largest world exhibition, and this year Beijing reopened National Museum, which after three years of renovation can once again boast the title of the largest museum in the world. The management of the museum, which covers as much as 200,000 square meters and represents more than one million cultural and historical objects, expects more than ten million visitors annually. When the Communist Party of the People's Republic of China took a new path in the late 1980s, the image of the capital also began to change. As well as foreign investors, the door was also opened to foreign and Western-educated Chinese architects, who brought dynamism and optimism to the image of gray Beijing, which was crumbling under the weight of colossal construction and an unfathomable number of unfinished or poorly built housing complexes. One of the most emblematic buildings of the new era, located on the west side of the main Tiananmen Square, is Peking Opera. When the French architect Paul Andreu won the competition in 1998, skeptics called his project for an elliptical dome made of glass and titanium the Duck Egg, while the most ardent opponents of ultramodern architecture in the very center of the city called the project the Mountain of Excrement. Today, the cultural center, which includes an opera house, a music hall and a theater, is the pride of the city and proof that the period of dullness and grayness in Chinese architecture is over. The best proof is, of course Olympic Stadium and other infrastructure that was built for the big event in 2008. In 2003, the project was entrusted to the Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, who invited one of the leading Chinese artists, Ai Weiwei, to participate. The designers of the stadium were inspired by Chinese ceramics, and their architectural achievement was nicknamed the Bird's Nest due to its unusual appearance. Among the event centers of the Olympic Games, we should not forget about A water cube, as the aquatic center is affectionately called. Half of the complex of five swimming pools, which was conceived by Australian architects PTW Architects, was turned into a huge water park after the Olympic Games.

Bold plans for the future
Being the biggest is more than an obvious trend in modern China, and the development of tourism is also hoping for gigantic successes. Although Shanghai and Hong Kong are big rivals in the number of tourists, Beijing is still the most visited Chinese destination. Last year, the city counted 140 million tourists, of which approximately five million were foreigners. But the ambitions are even greater, as tourism development planners hope that the number of foreign guests will double by the end of the decade. The Beijing airport has also risen to the ranks of the champions, becoming the second busiest airport in the world, surpassed only by the American city of Atlanta in terms of the number of passengers.

Discovering Hutongs
Every visitor to Beijing must experience the beauty and secrets of the Forbidden City, which is the most famous tourist spot after the Great Wall of China. One of the ways to get to know the history of the city is to take a walk hutongs, old city quarters, which unfortunately are disappearing in the desire for the fastest possible modernization of the city. Only a few of them have kept their typical face, but they have been preserved thanks to the enterprising plans of the city authorities, who turned the houses with pleasant inner courtyards into cafes, boutiques and art studios. A good example of a renovated old town is the hutong near the Pudu Temple.

Urban life
Although China is still a communist country, the way of life in the city is changing just like its rule. In most restaurants, we will still be served by scowling waiters, and we will have a selection of food available from so-called tourist menus, but optimism also pervades gastronomy and the designers of new environments. One of the best examples is Qu Nar, a restaurant owned and one of the interior decorators by the aforementioned Ai Weiwei. His restaurant is an example of the realized idea of an artist who turned into a restaurant owner, and in it he arranged an environment with other artists in which he presents works of art accompanied by culinary delights. Another artist who has thrown himself into the restaurant waters is Taiwanese actor Gao Mingjun, his restaurant  A21 however, it is a gathering place for the famous and the rich, who like to show off in a minimalist ambience with a few colorful details. When former cellist Bai Feng opened the restaurant and bar in 2000, he didn't have a name, so he just called it No Name Bar. Feng's unusualness and creativity are also expressed in the interior of the restaurant, which is a mixture of Mexican and Mediterranean influences with the addition of Texas energy. The menu is also interesting, offering the subtropical flavors of Yunan province's minority cuisines.

Made in China
Until recently, Chinese products were considered worthless kitsch, which were sold on stalls around the world. Although products made in China can be bought in almost every corner of the globe, China has begun to realize its rich tradition and history, which is also visible in the increasingly high-quality range of typical Chinese products. One of the best examples is a pottery shop Spin. The artists who create the legendary porcelain and ceramics are inspired by nature, which has inspired artists and craftsmen for thousands of years. It is also an internationally established trademark Shanghai Tang, which already has its stores in New York, Paris and London, but many of their products can only be found in stores in China. The Beijing utility store of this brand is located in the Grand Hyatt Hotel. More and more similar stores prove that China is not only becoming an economic giant, but also a superpower that has redefined its refined sense of aesthetics.