Tian’anmen / Dongjiaominxiang-天安门东交民巷

Iris River Park covers an area of 3.8 hectares with the length of 510 meters and the river width of 9 meters. The Iris River is built with four bridges, sixty trees, 500 newly planted trees, 2,000 bushes, 16,000 flowers and herbs and aquatic plants. The combination of green construction and rehabilitation of historic offers a refreshing look of the park.

Sprachcaffe Languages Plus offers Chinese language classes to foreigners of all levels. There office is located directly next to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square in the Working People's Palace.

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That gravelly voiced story teller you always hear on your cab driver's radio lives on in the tradition of pingshu, the art of storytelling. See it live here at this cultural center, where storytellers perform on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

It’s the world’s biggest square – three times the size of Moscow’s Red Square and designed to hold one million people. Looking at the crowds that pack it today, it’s hard to imagine that during the Qing dynasty it was merely a corridor running southward between ministry buildings. Although these structures were swept away after 1911, Tian’anmen Square didn’t acquire its present size until the late 1950s, when massive Sino-Soviet-style buildings were added as part of an architectural program to mark the 10th anniversary of the People’s Republic.

Small homestyle Chinese restaurant serving up quality versions of Beijing classics like mao doufu and baodu, as well as other favorites (such as kungpao chicken and twice-cooked pork). And of course, the restaurant's namesake, hearty beef and lamb roubing (meat pies).

Dishes described in Dream of the Red Mansion are the specialty at this restaurant located inside scenic Zhongshan Park by the Forbidden City. Try the dong cai baozi, kung pao chicken and yuxiang rousi.

Run by the grandson of a former chef of Mao Zedong's this restaurant serves classic, imperial cuisine made from organic vegetables befitting a state banquet. Prices for the prix fixe menu ranges from RMB 580-1,280, depending on number of courses and the types of dishes. Reservations necessary.

Dating back to 1919, this time-honored restaurant does high-end imperial and Cantonese cuisine. The menu includes seafood, roast suckling pig, conch and other pricey delicacies.