Think of Beijing and a montage of images begins. The undulating Great Wall, one of the wonders of the world. The haunting corridors of the Forbidden Palace and great expanse of Tiananmen Square. Swathes of silk. The Ming Tombs. Marco Polo and the Summer Palace. In short, a city that breathes a deep and ancient history.

Shift perspective and suddenly you find a city that is capital to the most populous nation on the planet. The streets are jammed - 1,000 cars are added daily - and pollution is dense. Shopping malls swarm skyscrapers districts linked by highways with pockets of traditional courtyard houses in between. It is a sprawling mess of consumerism gone mad.

HISTORY
The first Chinese dynasty, the Xia, is believed to have existed from 2200 to 1700 BC. The Zhou Dynasty lasted from 1100 to 221 BC, and introduced Confucianism and the idea of the 'mandate of heaven,' where the right to rule was given to the just. This was later complemented by the Taoist view that heaven's disapproval was symbolised by natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods and insect plagues.

The Qin dynasty (221-207 BC) saw the first unity of China's people. The Qin created a standardised writing system and started building the Great Wall. The ensuing Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) was marked by much military conflict and the creation of the Three Kingdoms.

Out of the chaos, unity came under the Sui dynasty (589-618). The most glorious period of Chinese civilisation in terms of art and literature blossomed during the Tang Dynasty (618-908). China, at the head of the silk routes became a cosmopolitan society. Buddhism also flourished during this time.

Confucianism was rekindled during the Song dynasty (960-1279), while Genghis's grandson Kublai Khan's Yuan dynasty (1271-1368) established what is now Beijing as the capital and ran a military government. Chinese novice Buddhist Hongwu established the Ming dynasty during 1368 to 1644, establishing first Nanjing then Beijing as the capital. The first Europeans to arrive in China were the Portuguese. They arrived in 1516, but only established a trade mission in 1557 in Macau. In 1760 other powers infiltrated through a base in Guangzhou to gain access to China's markets. Trade flourished, but in China's favour, as the British snapped up China's silk and tea, while the Chinese had little use for their wool and spices. In 1773 the British started selling China opium to disastrous results. The Opium Wars thus began in 1840. The result of this war was the splitting up of China. The British claimed Hong Kong, and other Western powers carved China up into different spheres of influence.

Chaos ruled the first half of the 20th century, with intellectuals scrabbling for a new philosophy to replace Confucianism and the imperial system, and warlords fighting each other for power. The two main parties to emerge from the madness were Sun Yatsen's Kuomintang, and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1921.

In 1931 Japan took advantage of the chaos to invade Manchuria, in China is northeast. Chiang Kaishek, who had taken over after Sun Yatsen's death, preoccupied by fighting the Communists, did little to halt the Japanese, who had overrun most of eastern China by 1939. After WWII, China again fell into civil war. The Communists, led by Mao Zedong prevailed, Chiang was forced to flee to Taiwan and on 1 October 1949 Mao proclaimed the foundation of the People's Republic of China (PRC), from Tiananmen Square.

China in the 1950's returned a period of calm and regained some of her confidence. This was partly due to the Korean War, the ending of civil war, the control of inflation and the revival of industrial production. However towards the end of the decade, Mao's disastrous agrarian reforms, known as the Great Leap Forward, and China's heavy handedness to 'liberating' Tibet, were flags to the rest of the world that Mao's utopia was more a cruel dictatorship. The fleeing of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual head and the suppression of Tibetan religion and culture are anguishes that resonate to this day. Deadly anti-government riots in March in Lhasa ended up with hundreds of Tibetans arrested and the entire region closed off to foreigners. Tibet is still out of bounds to non-Chinese at the time of writing.
The Cultural Revolution in 1966-70 was an attempt to distract the populace from the disastrous Great Leap Forward. Mao published his Little Red Book of quotations, and used the revolution to purge his opponents under the fury of the youth-led Red Guards. Universities were closed, intellectuals were killed, temples were ransacked and reminders of China's capitalist past were destroyed. The revolution petered to an end in 1976 with Mao's death. Major changes first began in the early eighties when Deng Xiao Ping, who then led the country, instigating a slew of economic reforms, putting China on the road to capitalism. Beijing and London signed the Sino-British Joint Declaration, paving the way for Hong Kong to return to China in 1997. China was more than ready for economic reconstruction, although political reform was not on the books. But a growing anti-government movement was raising its head, spurred on by inflation, hardship and a student-led desire for democracy. They culminated in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, which when the government ordered an army crackdown ended in a massacre.
Over past couple of decades Beijing has completely transformed. Western culture has taken over the city replacing Mao's legacy. The older generation may find the faster paced roller coaster lifestyle difficult to deal with but China's youth are embracing this new consumer lifestyle with a passion.

Level of gay acceptance
Today, Beijing has a fairly "out" but still - understandably - discreet, gay population. Shanghai continues its role as the social barometer of the greater China with its more "open" attitude towards gays. However, caution is recommended. Though homosexuality is not explicitly forbidden, this invites the age-old truism that if something is not illegal, it does not follow that it is legal. That said, there is a far greater level of acceptance, if not tolerance, of gays in Beijing than anywhere else in China (excepting Shanghai).

There is a small activist movement, which understandably has to keep its profile fairly low key. On the social side of the scene, Beijing has a ton of gay saunas and bars, one gay club and a sprinkling of lesbian bars. Most queer mainlanders meet each other over the Internet and there are hundreds of websites.
Public displays of affection are frowned upon so reserve your passion for the gay venue or your hotel room. Beijing is overrun by money boys - the usual cautions apply here. Else, there's nothing to stop you having a fabulous time in Beijing.

HIGHLIGHTS

With a culture as ancient as China's, chances are that every other day will feature some religious or celebratory festival. As Mao frowned on superstition and tried to stamp out tradition, Chinese from Hong Kong and Taiwan will find festivals in China not celebrated in quite the same colourful way they will be used to. However, recently the government has been trying to revive some of the country's traditions and, for example, the Dragon Boat Festival and the Festival of the Dead have re-entered the calendar as national holidays. Listed below is a select sample of the more popular festivals. Since they follow the lunar calendar the exact date be given. Check with your travel agent if you want to catch anything. Spring Festival January/February, depending on the moon cycle The beginning of the Chinese New Year. Celebrations continue for two weeks with much feasting and fireworks. Note travel around China at this time is extremely difficult with the whole country on the move trying to get home to see their families. Festival of the Dead April, depending on the moon cycle Sometimes known as the Grave Sweeping Festival is meant as a mark of respect is made to one's ancestors. Visits are made to the graves by the whole family bearing food and symbolic gifts. Offerings are burnt everywhere and there's a good deal of activity at the temples. A cultural experience. Midi Music Festival May The capital's biggest music festival when headline local bands and overseas artists - perform in sprawling Haidian Park, the city's university district. Gigs are spread out over several days and mainly feature rock and indie music. This year the event was cancelled due to security fears ahead of the Olympics but everything looks set to go for 2009. Dragonboat Festival June or July, 5th day of the 5th lunar month A festival that celebrates the bravery of a government minister who drowned himself in 280 BC in protest over the corruption and immorality of his country. Highlighted by the eating of glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in lotus leaf (zongzi). Moon Festival September or October, 15th day of the 8th lunar month A time for mooncakes: rich cakes filled with either sweet or savoury stuffings. Historically, mooncakes were used by patriotic Chinese to smuggle messages to each other. We just like to eat the damned things. Note an averaged sized mooncake contains about 1,000 calories and is therefore equivalent to a meal and a half.