Wherever you go in Beijing these days there are new buildings going up and more new roads being constructed. Much of it is in preparation for the Olympics 2008. Some of the new buildings show a feature, such as upturned eaves, so that they can easily be identified as Chinese, but some do not. The picture on the right is a view from the revolving restaurant at the top of the International Hotel, Beijing. The restaurant was closed at the time, so there were no customers nor other visitors to block the views through the windows. A colorful mixture of buildings, tower-blocks, and hutongs, ancient, and modern, but very few signs of traditional Chinese architecture with upturned eaves.



Close to the International Hotel there is a restaurant, Yuxin, undoubtedly Chinese, in style and service. The menu is fully illustrated with pictures of the dishes available, and a "chilli motif" to indicate the amount of chilli used in the preparation of the food; 3 chillies* very hot, no chillies* not hot and spicey. Language is no problem! Many of the dishes available are suitable for vegetarians. The picture shows:- Top right,"Three Times Cooked Pork" delicious, melt-in-the-mouth! Bottom center, "Ducks Tongues", looking a bit like beetles, but very tasty. There is also, "Winter Melon Soup", "Yellow Bean, Sweetcorn and Peas", "Beans and Plums", and "Lotus Root Stuffed With Sticky Rice". The Chinese food served at the restaurant should satisfy most tastes.


Another bird's eye view, from the roof top of the Grand Hotel, Beijing. This was also closed at the time but we were given permission to enter, to be met at the roof-top by the restaurant manager, two of his staff and two security guards. Here was part of ancient China, only in the distance could be seen the modern tower blocks contrasting with the roof tops of the palaces and halls of the Forbidden City. Below us, but not shown here, was Chang An Avenue leading to Tiananmen Square.