People's Square

At People's Square , north of the train station, you'll find one of China's largest, glistening-white statues of Mao Zedong, as well as two new Louvre-like glass pyramids, which mark a massive subterranean Wal-Mart (a major outing for locals). It's a madhouse here on Friday or Saturday nights when crowds are so thick it can take a whopping 45 minutes to get from one side of the store to the other.

Outside on the square itself, things are more pleasant, with lots of families and people flying kites or visiting in the small gazebos. Weekday mornings the square is often flooded with people practising taichi.