Lonely Planet Best of Beijing (Lonely Planet Beijing Encounter)

This is the only pocket guide to Beijing, with fold-out maps and script in text for every listing. The 2008 Olympics means Beijing is more welcoming than ever. The insider picks on the best restaurants and sights save time in this massive city. 2003 saw 75 per cent increase in foreign visitors. China will host a summit meeting, involving Chinese and African leaders next year in Beijing, in a bid to institute the layout of Sino-African cooperation. There are 61 million Chinese investors in the stock market. There are 60 million members of the Chinese Communist Party. Chinese Emperor Shi Huang-Ti built a network of 270 palaces, linked by tunnels, and was afraid of assassination that he slept in a different palace each night. Fingerprinting was used in China as early as 700 A.D.