Thirty years ago, soon after the communists tentatively opened their gates to the west, I visited mainland China. Chairman Mao's reign hadn't been very kind to much of the population and there was plenty of poverty on display, empty shops, peasants doing menial jobs and ill-equipped factories with people performing repetitive banal jobs. Communist China in 1981 didn't look very appealing. Fascinating, but not particularly inviting.

Three decades later and much has changed. Just as reassuringly though, many things have remained the same. The very quintessential nature of what Chinese cities have always been about is still intact in the old hutongs (or alleys) of old Beijing. Despite China's headlong rush into capitalism, many of Beijing's hutongs have been spared the wreckers ball and are now designated protected areas. While enormous shiny concrete edifices - inevitably for the government and increasingly, the army- are springing up along the capital's boulevards, the old city is where Beijing's heart lies and have escaped the inexorable onslaught of progress that seems to be gripping the country.

Dirty, smelly, noisy, narrow and crowded; they are fascinating glimpse what old Peking must have once been like. But any who ventures down them and experiences their odd will find a window into the true Chinese spirit

Tourists staying in the large international hotels often miss the best parts of Beijing as they are invariably remote from the throngs of markets and the frenetic energy of the hutongs.

By contrast hotels in the hutongs are usually small, family run and charming. They represent the best way to experience first-hand how locals have lived for generations. Deceptively ramshackle from the street, they open up behind often ornate entrances to reveal rooms arranged around quaint courtyards.

Street vendors, every imaginable trinket, interesting food stalls, children playing games and old men chattering over the intricacies of mah-jong, incessant beeping of horns and very chic European style cafes epitomise the diversity and vitality the hutongs offer to the adventurous. Schools, universities, government offices, factories are also nestled in amongst the chaos and somewhat surprisingly, very obvious signs of the burgeoning middle class and their new-found wealth.

Along with tiny smoke-belching cars and mopeds are more brand new BMWs, Mercedes and Audis than anywhere else on earth. Not surprisingly the German car manufacturers are struggling to keep up with demand. A communist China seems to be a distant memory. The good Chairman might be turning in his crystal mausoleum as the real, myriad Chinese of the hutongs go on about their endless b

usiness.