Few cities on earth are changing as fast as Beijing, capital city of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Construction cranes rule the horizon, new hotels, shopping malls and commercial plazas (not to mention 37 sports stadiums and 59 training facilities) are springing up at giddying speed and old sectors of the city are being razed and modernised.

Hosting the Olympic Games represents the ultimate statement of China's emergence as a global superpower, and it is determined to make the ‘People's Olympics' the most successful and dazzling ever staged.

Beijing's high-speed physical makeover moves hand-in-hand with a firmly retained grip on China's rich cultural heritage and strict communist social order. A monolithic showcase city, Beijing can give a distorted view of China to foreign visitors.

Its soaring modern architecture and vast international hotels are juxtaposed with grandiose socialist municipal buildings and connected by an often confusing system of broad boulevards and ring roads around the city. Rush hour traffic jams can match (and frequently beat) those of any major world city and the city's air pollution can be eye-watering.

Beyond the modernity, Beijing offers a bountiful hotpot of tourism attractions, including the fast-disappearing hutong (see Excursions), parks, architectural and cultural treasures and exquisite temples - and, of course, serves as a base to visit the Great Wall of China (see Excursions).

Beijing became China's capital in 1421 and was to remain so until the collapse of the imperial regime in 1911. From 1911 to 1949 Beijing suffered, as did the rest of China, from the internecine wars fought between various factions trying to take control of the whole country.

The Japanese invasion in 1931 was followed by a bitter civil war, which finally led to communist supremacy under Mao Zedong and the founding of the People's Republic of China (announced at the Gate of Heavenly Peace at the entrance to the Forbidden City) with Beijing as the capital.

The first 10 years of Mao's rule stabilised a fearful, humiliated nation and strong advances were made in industry, agriculture, education and health care. However, in 1966, Mao launched the Cultural Revolution, a frenzied  attack on liberal political, historical and social thought, the cruel legacy of which is still felt across the country.

Following Mao's death in 1976, President Deng Xiaoping gradually opened up China to the outside world, welcoming foreigners as both investors and tourists, and empowering Chinese entrepreneurs to set up businesses.

Though the undoubted political, academic and cultural capital of China, Beijing remained in the commercial shadow of its powerful east coast nemesis, Shanghai, which swallowed a huge proportion of foreign investment flowing into China.

However, after the awarding of the 2008 Olympic Games to Beijing in 2001, the capital has embarked upon a massive infrastructural investment programme and has benefited from higher levels of foreign capital creating jobs, affluence and funds to invest in the city's pre-Olympic redevelopment.

There's only one place to begin exploring the city - Tiananmen Square, where Mao Zedong declared the foundation of the People's Republic. Though more closely identified with the suppression of the student-led pro-democracy protests of 1989, the world's largest public square is an impressive tourism centrepiece, and now features a giant Olympic countdown clock.

To stand (alongside thousands of visitors) and see the imposing majesty of the Forbidden City to the north and the vast portrait of Mao Zedong on the Tiananmen Gate itself is to appreciate the indubitable centrality of the capital to all aspects of the Chinese psyche. For further confirmation, turn around and see the snaking queue of people preparing to enter Chairman Mao's mausoleum.

Beijing is at its best in late spring and, particularly, autumn when crisp, sunny days are accompanied by tree leaves turning glorious shades of red and gold. The searing heat of summer and the biting winds in winter can be extreme.