Much of contemporary Beijing’s urban layout has its roots in the 15th century, when the Ming Dynasty built the Forbidden City as its seat of power. Today the sprawling metropolis is still organized according to districts and ring roads encircling the former imperial palace. In the Wangjing area, half-way between the traditional city center and the international airport to the northeast, a shiny new business district has risen in recent years on what was formerly farmland and tracts of squat Soviet-style buildings.