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A ball fell from one of four dragon’s mouths to indicate the direction of the quake.

Recently renovated to a high standard, and with the addition of a brand new tower and excellent restaurants and bars. One drawback is that the hotel is out in the far west of the city, near the Summer Palace.

Hot bread roll filled with a fried egg and often sprinkled with aniseed for flavoring.

There are four main role types in Beijing Opera: sheng (male), dan (female), jing (painted face), and chou (clown). Sheng are divided into laosheng, who wear beards and represent old men, xiaosheng who are young men, and wusheng, who are the acrobats and whose roles are typically those of warriors.

Shidu offers a fabulous escape from the commotion of urban Beijing and a chance to enjoy some stunning natural scenery. Before the new road and bridges were built, travelers had to cross the Juma River ten times as they journeyed through the gorge between Shidu and nearby Zhangfang village, hence the name Shidu, which means “Ten Crossings.” Pleasant walking trails wind along the riverbank between impressive gorges and limestone formations.

More properly known as Xiushui, this is the most infamous market in Beijing. It is reportedly the city’s third main tourist attraction after the Forbidden City and the Great Wall. Some 100,000 shoppers a day visit to snap up famous brand goods for ridiculously low prices. Of course, they are all fakes, but who’s to know? However, visitors may not have to struggle with the morality of it all for much longer, as the trade in counterfeits is likely to be stamped out before the Olympics come to town (see also Silk Market).

Beijing’s own SOHO (it stands for Small Office, Home Office) is a high-rise complex of residential and commercial property in the city’s rapidly developing Central Business District. It represents a new form of Chinese design, somewhere between Scandinavian modern and Ming minimalism. Visit to see what some believe represents the future of Beijing, also for good shopping, dining, and for the chance to meet real Chinese yuppies.