Beijing: China's beautiful contradiction - Telegraph Where Beijing had always been the careworn elder sibling of glamorous Shanghai, contemporary architectural icons have begun to spice up the capital's dowdy high-rises: most famously, the avant-garde buildings of Soho China, Rem Koolhaas" CCTV tower, and Paul Andreu's spectacular water-ringed, glass and titanium National Grand Theatre, known as The Egg. Not that everyone likes it. "Westerners don't understand," a Chinese girl complains. To us, the Egg's tumulus shape represents a tomb. To the north, an abandoned industrial zone, known as 798, has morphed into a trendy arts district, where former munitions and electronics factories house modern art galleries, boutiques and restaurants, while French fashion houses flock to the Grace Hotel (in a converted crystal factory) for photo shoots in a cavernous gas storage facility. The Gate of Heavenly Peace, Tiananmen Square A six-year-old boy sits on a bench with an open portfolio on his lap, and a sign reading "Please buy my paintings." His dragon-mother comes along and tells me, in all seriousness: "I want him to learn how to earn a living." Sometimes, it is difficult to believe this is Beijing, capital of a Communist country. In the new embassy area of Sanlitun, for example, where expats congregate in European restaurants or in the bar of the Japanese-designed Opposite House hotel, The Village shopping mall is one of the city's gleaming temples of Western consumerism, stuffed with designer brands. In the former Legation Quarter, the 1903 US Embassy - turned Chinese State Guest House, where Zhou Enlai met President Nixon on his 1972 visit - is now home to one of the city's grandest restaurants, Maison Boulud. But it is in Old Beijing that nostalgic charm resides. Not in the must-see sights whose magic is tarnished by the tidal wave of tourism - the Great Wall, or the Summer Palace, for example (where the Aman hotel has established itself in a style befitting the Dowager Empress Cixi herself) - but in the city's hidden markets, temples and lanes. Yves swings the bike around a corner, and we find ourselves in a hutong rarely visited by foreigners. Most of the courtyard houses in these lanes are inhabited by half a dozen families, with no showers, a shared outside kitchen and loo, community living extending to local schools and shops. I am surprised, in these conditions, to see gleaming cars parked here and there, but Yves assures me that appearances are deceptive, and some of these families are quite well-off. The pre-Olympics destruction of many derelict hutongs, some of which dated from the 13th-century Yuan Dynasty onwards, and the relocation of their inhabitants, occasioned international furore. But today, surviving courtyard houses - bought and restored as private homes by foreigners and local dignitaries - fetch astronomical prices, their cultural value reaffirmed. Yves points to the old wooden gateway to one such house, hung with red lanterns. "The four beam-ends above the door indicated a very important resident," he explains. The high step at the entrance is to prevent evil spirits from entering - because in China, evil spirits don't have knees. I could spend hours rifling through the jade, carved stone seals and tat of Panjiayuan market, trying to haggle without language; or in the more credible antiques and calligraphy shops of Liulichang, in the Imperial tile-making district of the Ming era. We visit the animal market, where rare and nameless fish sell for as much as £10,000, impossibly plumed birds compete with singing crickets in tiny bamboo cages, and a "specialist chinchilla outlet" provides wooden toys for a shopful of cuddly creatures. Later that day, the colourful ambassador of Raffles, John Spooner, shows me a different aspect of the locals" love of animals, with a visit to the Night Market. Here, stall upon stall sells local delicacies: tiny sea horses impaled on cocktail sticks, snakes curled round skewers like Asclepius's staff, still-wriggling scorpions, speared beads of silkworm pupae - not to mention fried centipede, fish head and chicken heart. Hepatitis Alley, John calls it. We emerge, gagging, onto a square, to be rewarded with a fantastic sight: a group of tiny schoolchildren practising kung fu, already expert contortionists, as focused as mini Bruce Lees. One of my favourite spots in Beijing's bustle is the serene oasis of the Confucius temple. Off the beaten tourist track, this is where candidates were prepared for the final stage of Imperial examinations in the Forbidden City, and where, amid ancient trees, a forest of stone steles record the names of successful candidates. Another, and for opposite reasons, is the Temple of Heaven. In its extensive grounds, all life is to be found. While visitors flock to the beautiful triple-roofed, triple-balconied circular temple, in the shade of covered corridors, men and women gather to play poker or draughts, knit and gossip. A solitary old man plays the pipa, a four-stringed instrument, and in the gardens, kites are flown and group singalongs are in progress. Come on a Sunday, and you will see people bring their birds, hang the cages on trees, and indulge in birdsong competitions. It is a strangely touching scene. Of course, those revered images of Mao are not forgotten. Enterprising individuals ambush the elderly at the entrance with offers of wheelchairs, and among the guidebooks and fans on sale, you will find playing cards featuring Putin and Obama, Gaddafi and Steve Jobs, sitting companionably on a shelf. "It is glorious to be rich," Deng Xiaoping famously told his people in 1978, in what - after the Cultural Revolution - must have come as a bit of a shock. The message has finally seeped throughout society, to create the beautiful contradiction that is Beijing. Beijing essentials British Airways (0844 493 0787; ba.com) flies daily from Heathrow to Beijing from £760 return. Select Collection (020 7491 7171; selectcollection.co.uk) offers a six-night package to Beijing, including three nights at the Grace, with breakfast, three nights at the Aman Summer Palace, room only, two days" private guided touring, airport transfers and return flight on BA, for £2,495 per person. Beijing Sideways (0086 139 1133 4947; beijingsideways.com) offers a good range of tours by motorcycle sidecar, which are driven by knowledgeable expatriate guides. Lily Li (139 115 8093; llj1828@yahoo.com.cn) is an excellent and companionable walking guide. For further reading, try Beijing Walks - Exploring the Heritage by Don J Cohn (Odyssey; £15.95) and Beijing City Guide (Lonely Planet; £12.99). Items worth bringing home include freshwater pearls, from a reliable source, such as a pearl farm, or from Fanghua (4th floor, Hongqiao Market); silk-filled duvets - several makes are available, sold either by size or by weight. A double duvet weighing 2,500g costs £90 from Yuanlong Silk Factory (55, Tiantan Road, Chongwen district); and speciality teas from Bell Tower Tea House (Linzi 9, Zhonglouwan, Dongcheng district). Old Beijing Square Hotel £ A converted, music-themed, classic Qing Dynasty hutong courtyard house, centrally located, clean and pleasant (0086 108 402 5337; doubles from £53 per night). Raffles Beijing ££ Enjoying the best location in town near Tiananmen Square, this is Beijing's only historic hotel, built in 1917 and recently restored by Raffles to its former grandeur - including the bar's sprung floor, on which Mao once danced. Offering several categories of room/suite, this is the choice retreat of VIPs, with royal service to match. A suite overlooking the famous Chang An Avenue is certainly recommended (6526 3388; raffles.com/Beijing; doubles from £140). The Opposite House £££ In the Sanlitun district, this is a striking, contemporary, Japanese-designed hotel cased in emerald glass, with hints of Chinese classical elements, modern art displays and minimalist wood-clad bedrooms. The hotel has a 75-foot, steel-lined swimming pool and an excellent North Asian restaurant, Bei, among its restaurants (6417 6688; theoppositehouse.com; doubles from £230). Din Tai Fung £ One of Ken Hom's chain of contemporary and delicious dumpling restaurants, on the top floor of a shopping mall (Xinguangtiandi branch; 6533 1536). Capital M ££ Trendy sister restaurant of Shanghai's M on the Bund serving international cuisine in glamorous yet laid-back surroundings near Tiananmen Square - it has a great terrace, too (3F, No 2 Qianmen Pedestrian Street; 6702 2727). Duck de Chine £££ One of the classiest Chinese restaurants in town, specialising in Peking duck. Located in the lovely 1949 courtyard complex (Courtyard 4, Gongti Bei Lu, Chaoyang district; 6501 8881). Avoid the fake goods at the Pearl and Silk markets. The Chinese government has had a recent purge that has sent the "quality" fakes underground. The Badaling section of the Great Wall. It is the closest section to Beijing, and the most crowded. Head instead for the Mutianyu section - one of the best-preserved - 43 miles/70km to the north-east of the city. Don't get into a taxi without your destination written in Mandarin - drivers don't speak English. Have you been to Beijing? Send your comments to yoursay@telegraph.co.uk or post them on our website at telegraph.co.uk/travel