Along Chang'an Jie Travel Guide

, the freeway which runs dead straight east-west across the city, changing its name four times along its length, is downtown Beijing at its most grandiose and unreal. A showcase street, it is lined with the headquarters of official and commercial power, which rub shoulders with the glitziest hotels and malls. Architectural styles are jumbled together, with international modernism, post-modern whimsy and brute Stalinism all in evidence, as well as the odd block of hutongs, and a couple of ancient sites looking utterly lost amid this parade of gargantuan robots. Heading west from Tian'anmen Square, the tone is mostly official, dominated by the Communist Party Headquarters and two museums , though there's a pretty good shopping district, Xidan , where you can rub shoulders with the locals, and the pleasant Baiyuguan Si to chill out in. East is more glamorous, with heavy lashings of shopping, perhaps the best in China, plus flashy hotels and restaurants. In this direction, the Observatory provides respite from all this fun but ultimately rather exhausting consumerism. Along Chang'an Jie, you'll find most of the facilities you need: the post office, Aviation Office, central train station and plenty of banks. For a quick fix of the whole experience, take bus #1, which travels the entire length of the freeway.