China is one of the most ancient civilizations in the world. The country with its 10 million square
kilometers is only the third largest in the world but with its 1,200,000,000 inhabitants, it’s the most
populous. The capital, Beijing is worthy of this enormous country. 11 million people live within its area.
No matter where we live in the world, almost certainly there’s a Chinese district, shop, market,
restaurant or snack bar close to where we live, thus almost everybody has a vague image of Chinese
people and culture. Still, Beijing is usually a big surprise for those who visit it for the first time. The old
Chinese proverb describes it well. It’s better to see once than to hear about it 100 times. The city with
short breaks has been the capital of the country for 700 years. Monuments reminiscent of the glorious
past had remained in a conspicuously large number. That’s not what’s surprising but the fact that above
the pagodas and Buddhist temples, skyscrapers rise and a rapidly growing and developing country with
its six and eight lane highways, multilevel junctions and modern buildings remind us more and more of
North America.