Lao She Teahouse (3 Qianmenxi Dajie) is a cultural institution. It is more than a spacious, atmospheric teahouse; at least, it is when Beijing’s finest singers come around to perform selections from the classics of Beijing-style opera.

The venue is named after Lao She, a Chinese writer who penned a famous play called, Teahouse (Mandarin Chinese: Cha Guan). Lao She’s Teahouse is an attempt to recreate the classic Chinese social sites that are celebrated in the play.

Lao She died during the Cultural Revolution. He might have been murdered or driven to suicide because of the anti-literary sentiment in 1960s China. However, today he is celebrated as one of China’s greatest authors and dramatists.

However, this teahouse has taken on a life of its own. The acoustics, spacious seating area, and lighting make it an intimate performance space. Beijing opera is a unique performance art that is not at all like its European counterparts.

There is also food and drink at Lao She’s. The main item on the menu is, of course, tea. There are also plenty of snacks and tasty treats. Steamed dumplings (Baozi), dates, and a variety of authentic pastries are favorites.

Opera performances take place in the evenings. Check the website www.laosheteahouse.com (requires Flash player) for exact times. It will surely be quite crowded during the Games.

The owner of Lao She’s Teahouse is friends with some of China’s best contemporary painters, including Qi Baishi, whose likeness is displayed alongside Lao She’s inside the restaurant. Aside from opera singers, comedians, jugglers, acrobats, and contemporary music sometimes take the onstage.

There is a display room off the main dining area. Kites, jade carvings, and other crafts are displayed inside.

There are many reasons to visit Lao She’s. Sure, the opera performances are a big draw, but other performances, art, and atmosphere also make this a worthwhile visit.

While there will be a glaringly strong spotlight on all things new during the Beijing Olympics, there is no escaping the fact that China’s capital is a place of deep history. This is no secret to would-be Olympic travelers. They can take a break from athletics to visit some of China’s ancient sites. The problem at these famous venues: overwhelmingly large crowds. With all these people, Forbidden City might seem more like Disneyworld on the 4th of July than a 500-year-old imperial compound.

Luckily, some Beijing historical sites will not make it onto most itineraries. One of the biggest of these is Beihai Park. A 10 yuan entrance fee (could be hiked up during the games) will get you access to Beijing’s greatest park; one that was 1000 years in the making.

Beihai is 175 acres and is divided into 4 areas: Jade Flower Island, Chengguang Hall, the eastern bank area, and the northern bank area. Over half of the park is covered by waterways.

Jade Flower Island is home to several 500-year-old temples and pavilions. The scenery is the stuff of ancient Chinese paintings: rocks and aged trees stand next to ponds and pavilions begging to be photographed.

Chengguang Hall was once a garden and home to elegant Ming Dynasty celebrations. Inside the hall sits a huge wine vessel that was used by the famed Kublai Khan (son of Genghis Khan), the first Yuan dynasty ruler.

The eastern banks of the park are very quiet. This is the best place to catch up with nature and get away from the crowds. The northern bank is full of intricately decorated pavilions and over one thousand status of Buddha.

Beihai Park is usually crowded with locals. Savvy tourists will probably be planning to go there during the Games. If the crushing crowds of the Forbidden City and National Museum are too much, Beihai might be a good bet.

Beijing will be packed during the Olympics. The main tourist attractions will be more densely populated that Disney World during high season. Where can you go to get away from the crowds? Between August 8th and 24th, such an escape might not be possible.

Unless, that is, you are prepared to travel beyond Beijing’s city limits. Beijing has a little known sister city, Tianjin. It is a populous town, but has somehow managed to miss the tourism renaissance felt in Beijing, Shanghai, and China’s other major cities.

Though not as tourist friendly a destination as Beijing, Tianjin is the prefect place too get a glimpse of the real China. Beijing will have on its make-up for the Olympics. Tianjin just might be the perfect place to get behind the façade.

The river city can be reached easily from Beijing. High-speed train and bus service is cheap and the distance is covered quickly.

But what can you do once you get there?

The Ancient Cultural Street hosts a huge market. It rivals many of Beijing’s markets in terms of atmosphere and options for souvenir searching. Bargaining is aggressive, even when compared to Beijing. You will be expected to negotiate hard for any purchase.

Tianjin is cheaper than Beijing in general. Even inflated tourist prices will seem cheap after a visit to Beijing.

Tianjin has many schools and universities. Thus, there is a youthful party scene, especially at bars and clubs near major universities. The cream of the dancing crop can be found at clubs with names like Scarlet, Seven, New York Bar, and Sitong Bar.

Hotels in Tianjin might leave a little bit to be desired, but you will probably be able to find decent rooms even after Beijing’s lowliest guesthouse lights up its No Vacancy sign. Tianjin First Hotel and Astor Hotel populated the budget end of things, while the city’s Hyatt and Sheraton offer 4-star accommodations.

Despite its pollution and sometimes-harsh winters, Beijing is a city of parks and gardens. While estimates suggest that the number of visitors during the Olympic Games could reach seven figures, these parks will remain bastions of calmness amidst the bustle of the festivities.

Beihai Park is Beijing’s version of New York’s Central park, only with thousand-year-old structures and religious icons. It is a favorite of locals and has enough sites and greenery to attract both sightseers and those seeking a break from the Olympic and tourist activities.

Venture further outside the city center, though, and visitors will find the Beijing Botanical Gardens. It is adjacent to the 5th Ring Road, but is easily reached from the city center on Xiangyi Road or by city bus (there are no less than 10 that stop at the Gardens). Entry into the gardens is a mere 5 yuan, making it one of the cheaper sites in the city.

The grounds themselves are not as expansive as visitors might expect. But there is a 13-room greenhouse and over 3,000 species housed within the gardens.

Inside the greenhouse, the displays include:
1. An evergreen garden
2. Tropical marshland plants (including water lilies and lotuses)
3. Plants used in agriculture like rubber trees, cocoa plants, and coffee bushes
4. An exhibit of medicinal plants that are so much a part of China’s medical history.
5. Several rooms are dedicated to ornamental plants that are bred either for their appearance or for their scents.

There is an educational aspect to the Botanical Gardens. There is an 11,000 square foot Specimen House featuring rare and unusual plants that have been collected in China over the years. There are also working research facilities where plants are classified, bred, and studied.

One of the most popular gardens is the Peony Garden. These beautiful flowers are known throughout China.

Before it became the host city for the 2008 Olympics, Beijing was known amongst tourists for its strong sense of history. China’s current capital was a political and religious center long before countries like the US and Australia were ever established. Though modern buildings have overtaken the aged cityscape, there are still some historic sites in Beijing that attract visitors because the offer a glimpse into China’s vibrant past.

Aside from the Forbidden City, the best-known historic site in Beijing is The Temple of Heaven.

The Temple of Heaven is actually larger than the Forbidden City because the emperor who built it (in 1420, during the Ming dynasty) did not dare make his palace bigger than the city’s most important religious site.

The most easily recognizable structure is the Qiniandian. It was where the rulers would come to pray for a good agricultural season and an abundant harvest. There are 28 columns inside the temple. 4 represent seasons, 12 represent the months of the year, and 12 represent the hours of the day (in 15th century China, the day was divided into 12 equal parts, each one two hours long).

The Imperial Vault is another structure you might have seen on postcards and coffee table books. Its roof resembles an umbrella. Here, the emperor would place etched stone tablets that were made as memorials to the gods.

One area popular with tourists is the three Echo Stones. They are located at equal distances outside the Imperial Vault. Standing on the first one and speaking towards the Imperial Vault, you hear one echo. Standing on the second and speaking, you hear two echoes. On the third and final stone, anyone who shouts in the correct direction will be able to hear three echoes. No one knows if this was figured out by trial and error of by some sort of calculation.

The portions of the Great Wall of China near Beijing are usually crowded with tourists. During the Olympics, visitors intent on getting their very own snapshot in front of the famous structure will undoubtedly have to put up with larger than normal crowds.

There are four Wall sites within reasonable range of Beijing, and a couple more within a day’s travel. Many tour companies offer bus packages that include transit, entrance to one of the sites, and perhaps even a meal or two.

The heavily visited areas of Badaling and Juyongguan are the most convenient to Beijing. The sections of the wall have been restored here. It is always crowded and feels more like you going to a carnival than to one of the world’s greatest structures. Nonetheless, it is quite impressive.

Mutianyu is probably the strangest section of the Great Wall, though it is attractive because of its proximity to Beijing, but not as crowded as the other two sites mentioned above. A ski lift takes visitors up to the wall and a bizarre makeshift train/roller coaster returns them to sea level. The wall has been partially restored.

To see the “real” deal, visitors will have to block out one whole day, or maybe even two. Simatai, a section of original wall, lies about 50 miles from Beijing’s city limits. No gift shops here! The rewards for those taking the trip: no crowds, a chance to get up close with the original construction, and great views of the surrounding areas.

Areas of Hebei Province have several sections of wall that are worth visiting, though they are more than 4 hours away by train. The most interesting of these is Shanhaiguan. It juts out into the Yellow Sea and has several original towers, though many are in a state of decay.

The Palace Museum is one of the largest museums in China. It is known as much for its impressive architecture as it is for its nearly 1 million artifacts. The Palace is housed inside the massive and centrally located collection of buildings known as The Forbidden City. This is the “China” that most visitors expect when they are planning a visit. While most of Beijing is a bustling mix of new and old (with an advantage to the “new”), the Palace Museum is the best place to see examples of China’s past glory. The famed Qing and Ming dynasties called the grounds and historic buildings home.

The Palace was originally constructed in the 1420’s by Ming Dynasty rulers. It housed royalty until 1925, when the royal family fled in the face of a coup. It became a museum later that same year, and was recently reinvigorated by China’s policy of opening to the west.

Many of the original treasures housed in the palace were evacuated during World War II and moved frequently to avoid bombings, combat, and the Japanese occupation. They were returned to Beijing following the war. As Nationalist forces fled during the Civil War of the late 1940s, they took thousands of crates worth of treasure with them. These artifacts are now housed in Taipei’s National Museum. Both museums claim that they have more original treasures than the other. While Taipei probably has more works, the Palace and the Forbidden City have exponentially more atmosphere.

Despite housing only a fraction of the former ruler’s trove of treasures, the Palace Museum in Beijing is impressive. The venue itself, and the entire Forbidden City are infused with history. Imperial China is preserved, to a large extent, just as it was centuries ago. The Palace consists of halls, throne rooms, and rooms designed with the ancient art of feng shui.

The National Art Museum houses some of China’s biggest art exhibits. The museum was constructed in the 1960’s and named by China’s then-leader Mao Zedong.

Surprisingly (to some), the halls are not as stuffy as one might expect from an exhibit hall founded under Mao’s iron rule. That is probably because of a 2003 renovation and the general interest of China’s artists, general population, and current leadership to move away from what many consider to be a forgettable past. There are over 60,000 pieces in the museum, including many representation folk and commercial art.

Make no mistake, The National Art Museum is not as hip and contemporary as some of Beijing’s modern art enclaves, like 798 Dashanzi, but visitors are often surprised by the diversity of work on display. Traditional canvas/oil paintings and watercolors are hung next to comics and pencil sketches. Folk-art instillations include ornately decorated, hand-made kites, paper cutouts, toys, and shadow puppets.

As China’s contemporary arts scene gains notoriety, more people are becoming interested in visiting museums. While The Palace Museum is the place to go for classic art and the 798 galleries best for taking the pulse of the contemporary scene, the National Art Museum is a great introduction, not only to China’s artistic elites, but also to the folk traditions that have given the country its sense of artistic history.

The museum is located at the end of Wangfujing, one of Beijing’s bustling retail streets. Some rooms in the museum can be rented by artists and art dealers, who can then use the venue to display and sell their work. Prices are not the cheapest in town, but the work is among the best.

Those wanting to experience the excitement of Beijing’s contemporary arts scene would do well to journey to the 798 Gallery district. This area is home to independent galleries selling modern art.

Beijing has become one of the hottest spots for fine art in China. A contemporary scene has blossomed as restrictions on media and art have loosened. The city is literally littered with galleries. There are several areas that offer a high concentration of art related culture.

An organization of contemporary artists in Beijing has drafted an open letter to the world’s artists, inviting them to come to Beijing and make the Games as much about culture as sport. While the letter might have been inspired by the P.R. machine that is trying to make the Olympics about culture, not politics, several prominent and respected artists have lent their signatures to it.

Olympic officials in China are planning numerous cultural performances, concerts, operas, and art shows. Visitors will have their pick of Chinese cultural events to attend.

Even without the “official” version of cultural promotion, Beijing’s artists have created a unique artistic vibe in certain areas of the city. The 789 Art Zone, outside the city center, but easily reachable by taxi, is a mecca for independent art. There is a lively gallery and café scene and everyone is quite friendly, yopu could even say welcoming. Photo galleries compete for attention with sculptures, paintings, and modern digital art instillations. 789 is a large enough area that one needs a map to navigate it. Don’t fear, though, they are for sale at most galleries and shops in the area. Another plus is that, though not everyone speaks English, many people in the area do.

The Red Gate Gallery is a blend of contemporary and high-end art. It is located in a restored ancient watchtower. The staff is friendly, English speaking, and willing to spend time with art aficionados and curiosity seekers alike.

New buildings, new systems of transport, and new hotels have been springing up everywhere around Beijing. Many buildings that were built prior to the announcement that Beijing would host the 2008 Summer Games have received facelifts.

But, there are still visions of the old city. These magnificent structures and historic sites used to be the main draw for tourists visiting China’s capital. Even though the 100-meter dash and balance beam competition will steal most of the limelight away from China’s age-old architecture, these classic sites are still worth a visit, especially the ones located in Beijing proper.

One such site, the setting for many of China’s best and worst moments, is Tiananmen Square.

It’s size makes Tiananmen impressive. It is 100 square acres, the largest public square in the world. It has been the site of some of China’s most momentous moments. In 1919, the Communist movement began in the square as students staged a protest against the nationalist government. Things came full circle in 1989 when a well-publicized protest by students seeking greater democracy in China turned violent. Many visitors might be aware of the 1989 protests, but things have changed since those fateful days.

The square is impressive to see, but there is no shade unless you bring your own. The Olympics will be in August, a hot and sunny month in northern China. And the crowds will undoubtedly be heavy during the days.

But, China has changed a lot since 1989. The pictures of tanks rolling toward defiant students are etched in our memories, but there is no evidence of these events today; there are only hawkers trying to pawn fake Rolex watches and camera totting tourists. The Forbidden City and Mao’s Mausoleum sit at the edge of the square, reminding people of China’s communist past.

Many guidebooks recommend going at night, when the square it lit up and locals congregate to hang out.