I’ve been to Beijing many, many times. It’s really a shame with Tiananmen Square. You used to be able to walk freely there on 长安街 at anytime, including midnight, with no restrictions whatsoever. This ended when wholesome Uyghur freedom fighters started killing random civilians by ramming cars into crowds. You need an ID and security check now. Total pain on the ass. Thanks CIA

潘家园and琉璃厂has lots of very cool antiques/vintage items stores. I got an old propaganda poster and a cookbook from the ‘30s last time I went. And also an original little red book. You should definitely try to bring along a native speaker though, and preferably someone who knows their shit. These kinds of places have a reputation for being hucksters and dumb foreigners are easy marks for fake antiques.

Luckily I speak mandarin so it was very easy for me, you might have some trouble

It’s such a completely different city than it was in the early 2000s. God damn am I nostalgic for 2001 Beijing. The vibe, man! The three body problem series pretty heavily capitalized on sentimentalism towards this era. You had to have been there to see the incredible change in barely 20 years. I’m friends with a cabbie there, and the stories he tells about the 70s to now is some of the most interesting shit I’ve ever heard.