2019-09-01_Lonely_Planet_Traveller

CUT THIS OUT AND TAKE IT WITH YOU

SLEEPING

THE URBAN EDIT

ILLUSTRATION: STELLA ISAAC

LIKEA LOCAL

ThePolyArtMuseum

is a troveof ancient

Chineseartefactslocated

halfwayup a glass

skyscraper- youbuyyour

ticketfromtheoffice

reception.Bronzewareand

Buddhistsculpturesare

exquisitelydisplayedon

artfullylit plinths.Much

of thecollectionhasbeen

purchasedandrepatriated

fromoverseasauction

houses;lookoutforsix

of thedozensculptures

depictingfiguresof the

Chinesezodiacthatonce

adorneda fountainin

theOldSummerPalace.

Thecuratorsarestill

rounding up the rest.

BYBEIJINGRESIDENT

TOM O’MALLEY

FAMOUSBEIJINGERS

IMPORTS...ChairmanMao,
19,000extrasforthefilm
TheLastEmperor
EXPORTS...Ai Weiwei,
Peking duck, Jet Li

THESEAT

OF THE CHAIRMAN

Byhis lateryears,

Mao Zedong,champion

of the people,had

movedhimselfand his

entourageinto the

ForbiddenCity, having

turnedfrom liberator

into Communist

emperor.

BUDGET

CITYWALLSCOURTYARD

sitting-on-the-city-walls-

courtyard-house.hotels-

beijing-ch.com

Hiddenamida mazeof hutongs

justnorthof JingshanParkis

thischarmingbudgetoption.

Roomsanddormshaveprivate

bathrooms;spaciousfour-bed

dormsareespeciallygreat

value.Stuffedwithpotplants

andcurios,includinga full-sized

TerracottaWarrior,thecovered

courtyardofferscouches,cheap

localbeersandfresh coffee.

MID-RANGE

GRACELANDYARD

graceland-yard-hotel.

hotels-beijing-ch.com

Gracelandis anexquisitely

renovated courtyard hotel in

thegroundsof theabandoned

500-year-oldZhengjueTemple.

Therearesingles,doubles,

twins,a coupleof loftrooms

anda suite,alldoneoutwith

Buddhist-themedfurnishings.

There’snorestaurantnoreven

breakfast,butthesurrounding

hutonghasmany places to eat.

TOPEND

AMANATSUMMERPALACE

amanresorts.com

AcandidateforBeijing’sbest

hotel,datingin partsto the

19thcentury,withlargerooms

containedin picture-perfect

pavilionssetaroundcourtyards.

Steppingthroughtheredgates

is to entera verydifferent,very

hushedandveryprivileged

world,repletewithrareantiques

and contemporary design.

WHILEYOU’REHERE

DOexperience

greenteaat a

traditionalteahouse.

AFTERDARKheadout

fora boatrideon

magicalHouhaiLake.

BUYyourMao

Zedongwatchesat the

not-very-Communist

giftshopoutsidethe

mausoleumin

Tianenmen Square.

MORE INFO...Pocket Beijing(£7.99)//Beijing city guide (£13.99) // Guides app (free) // lonelyplanet.com/china/beijing

MAPKEY

EATING

CrescentMoonMuslim

Restaurant

DadongRoastDuck

GoldenPeacock

LittleYunnan

ShengYong Xing

Yufunan

ZhangMama

DRINKING

GreatLeapBrewing#45

SLEEPING

Amanat SummerPalace

CityWallsCourtyard

Graceland Yard