BEIJING – China is dominated by a repressive, authoritarian communist regime. The countryside is wracked with poverty and civil unrest. The economy is burdened by a rapidly growing elderly population, an inadequate pension system and an outdated, communist-style household registration system that can’t be reformed fast enough.

But that shouldn’t stop you from going.

Tourists who stick to the mainland’s two major cities, Beijing and Shanghai, will never notice. These cities are booming, cosmopolitan, capitalist metropolises filled with new construction projects, hordes of fashionable, mobile-phone-toting youngsters and flashy new cars, plus countless monuments and sites to see.

The capital, Beijing, is a sprawling city draped in the halls of power from past and present and full of imperial wonders and modern skyscrapers. The packed, twisting streets of Shanghai lack the trappings of power, but it’s a wild and freedom-loving town with a thriving black market and seedy underground – a tribute to its legendary, criminal past.

The most forbidding part about traveling around Beijing is the incredible, forbidding distances. The metro, though efficient and clean, only serves a fraction of the city, the buses are crowded and the schedules are in Mandarin and Ping-ying (Latinized Chinese) only. Shanghai is more pedestrian- and English-friendly, but the streets are dense and crowded. The metro is new, but also inadequate, and the bus drivers are insane. Bicycles are a cheap option in both cities and can be rented at most hotels. Taxis are easy on the wallet, but you’ll need a map or a good command of the language to guide the driver.

In Beijing, the ever-present People’s Security officers make it impossible for visitors to forget they are in a police state. Downtown, neat and courteous officers can be found on every corner. They are easy-going and kind when foreigners are present, but tend to be curt with the Chinese.

The government also keeps a tight lid on the flow of information throughout the country. China’s media are state-controlled and heavily censored. It is difficult for visitors who don’t speak the language to feel well-informed, but some major Western publications are available in four-star hotels. Cable channels and satellite TV offer a wider variety of information sources for those who can afford them.

However, Big Brother should not prevent visitors from enjoying Beijing’s countless sites. China’s imperial legacy has left the city landscape with enormous yet elegant palaces, parks and temples. The Forbidden City can take at least two days to see in full and the Summer Palace could easily take a week. A quick trip to Jingshan Park, which overlooks the downtown, is a good way to save time and get a good panoramic view of the city.

Still, state control does not prevent Beijingers from enjoying life. The people remain active and healthy. In the mornings, the parks teem with old people practicing Tai Chi, dancing and jogging. At night the streets throng with old men sipping tea and walking with their caged birds, while the restaurants are full.

China is home to one of the greatest culinary cultures in the world and every street is lined with restaurants and cafes. The portions are enormous and prices are low. Restaurants down side streets and alleyways are cheaper, but the menus are usually only in the local language. This is not a problem, as the service is usually friendly and pointing and smiling tend to work well. However, accidental orders of pickled chicken’s feet and canine delicacies have been known to happen. A good phrasebook with a list of the dishes and their English translations can solve this problem. Most Chinese customers don’t even look at the menu and simply order.

For those who are uncomfortable speaking the language, the outdoor food market just off Beijing’s main shopping street, Wanfujing, is a great place to see the food before it is served. Vendors display everything in their windows and attract customers by shouting or singing out the menu. Anything that crawls, swims or walks can be found. Those who favor the exotic may want to try the barbecued scorpions or silk worms, but to be honest they make the Chinese squirm too.

Russians in Beijing can also find a slice of home, as the city boasts a Russian restaurant (Moscow Restaurant on Xizhimenwai) along with other non-Chinese eateries. There is also a Russian beauty salon nearby proudly staffed by cigarette-smoking babushkas with blue hair. Plus, there is a market (Chaoyangmen Street) where the Russian expat population can fill up on cheap clothing and other stuff to ship back home.

The street stalls in Shanghai offer a less diverse selection, but the city is home to more Western-style baked goods and non-Chinese cuisine. Overall, the food is not as spectacular as in the capital and the restaurants tend to be pricier, but Shanghai has a much larger number of teahouses, where locals frequently gather to play cards, smoke cigarettes and noisily chat with friends. Visitors to the capital in search of coffee, tea and quiet conversation will be stuck with Starbucks and few other extremely overpriced venues.

Both cities boast an impressive nightlife, but Shanghai has a seedier underground. The coastal town’s nightlife is less centralized, with clubs nestled throughout the city. It also boasts an unusually large network of beauty salons that double as brothels at night. The police are more relaxed than in the capital as well – they are more interested in directing traffic than stopping the countless men on the street offering to change money and sell hashish.

Beijing’s bars and clubs are largely confined to the Sanlitun district, where most Westerners and well-to-do Chinese gather. Students and poorer folk prefer to entertain themselves at cheaper places in the north of the city, near Beijing University, or they just gather with friends and enjoy frosty bottles of Tsingtao beer on the street or in grubby restaurants.

What sets Shanghai apart from the capital most of all is its vibrancy and bustling pace of life. It feels like a thriving metropolis should, with people racing back and forth between their jobs, overworked businessmen nervously talking on cellular phones and fashionable young shoppers seething though the endless stores and restaurants. The authoritarian yoke that holds sway over downtown Beijing is absent from the former colonial city, with the exception of the occasional People’s Republic of China flag flying over several major banks.

A mixture of colonial and modern architecture gives the city a unique and dynamic feeling. Everywhere, the old and new mix in a harmonious, yet bizarre balance. Nanjing Dong is the fashionable central shopping street, covered with hordes of shoppers every day of the week and kept cool by the shadows of the surrounding high-rises. Not far away is the old city, where the dilapidated homes and narrow alleyways of the lower-class residents can be found. Visitors can go from looking at overpriced luxury merchandise in boutique windows to watching people dry their underwear on a clothesline in a matter of minutes.

The Bund, or harbor district, where the Huang Po River empties into the sea, gives visitors a look at the city’s gaudy skyline dominated by the ultra-modern Pearl Television Tower, which looks like a creation from a 1960s science-fiction movie.

The unique personalities of each of the two cities and the contrasts between them are characteristic of what makes China such a fascinating place. The diversity and variety in the country is staggering. Everywhere there is something new and exciting to see and none of it should be missed.