More than any other place in Russia, it is in Moscow you can really feel the legacy of the Soviet Union mixed with the capitalized society. Moscow embraces Western culture while preserving its own tradition. The October Revolution Square and the Monument of Vladimir Lenin are still historical landmarks in the city that attract many international tourists, but the mushroomed GUMs, main department stores, sell all kinds of high-end products and Western brands.

Russia finished celebrating their Victory Day on May 9 when I arrived, and Moscow was still in the celebratory mood, with billboards and flags everywhere. In the Red Square, construction workers in red crane began to remove the scaffoldings that held celebration decorations.

For tourists, the most attractive aspect of Moscow lies in its tradition and the well-preserved culture. There were many monuments and other architectures built 300 years ago in downtown Moscow. Many sites are culture heritage sites, and the name of a famous poet or writer is often pasted on many buildings.

By taking photos and looking up the buildings later, rich stories are revealed, such as the former residents of each building. In the streets, it's not difficult to find colorful doodles on the wall, some political with Vladimir Putin's image, some incomprehensible scrawls.

The traffic was best this time of year, as many residents were on a long holiday away from the city, with some riding black motorcycles racing at lightning speed, nimbly passing through long lines of cars along Moscow's eight lane roads in the middle of day.

You would not choose Moscow if you come to purely experience Western culture. Here tourists are more eager to discover typical Russia. If you are disturbed by drunken men while walking in the road, please take it easy and just walk away. It's common in a city where it's rumored that vodka is cheaper than water.

Kitschy market goods 

One place you can find yourself lost in defunct Soviet Union's military appliance and ancient Russian artifacts is at the local flea market. One of the best flea markets in Moscow is Izmailovsky flea market, an open air market open during the weekends, from 9 am to 6 pm. It is situated near Izmailovsky Park Station.

The market is huge, and it is possible to spend your whole day strolling around browsing military caps, pins, cigarette lighters, vodka pots and other relics from the Soviet Union. You can get yourself into a treasure hunt to buy some intricate artifacts, old cameras, knickknacks, jewelry and matryoshka dolls. The price is cheap.

The seemingly endless stalls in the market entice many tourists, and you can find people from different nationalities walking around the stalls. Most vendors understand some of the foreign languages and can speak more fluent English than the average Russian. This is one of the few places that you don't need a translator to help you with everything.

Bargaining is a necessary skill here. I bought some small knickknacks for two thirds of the original price.

The last piece of advice is to go early. The market will be too crowded in the afternoon, and some of the vendors may leave early.

Churches and missionaries

Whether you are religious or not, you cannot miss Saint Basil's Cathedral in the Red Square. The colorful and cheerful architecture of the Cathedral could clear your mind and bring you into a harmless fairy tale world.

It's said you cannot find another building that is as gorgeous as the Cathedral in the country, as Ivan the Terrible, the ruler of the Russia during the 1500s, would not allow this happen. He had the designers of the Cathedral blinded after they completed the building in 1560, so they could not create anything to compete with it. All that remains from the design is the legend.

As the capital of Orthodox Christianity, Moscow owns hundreds of the churches scattered around the cities. It lost its position during the Soviet Union, and most were torn down, some destroyed forever. After the Soviet Union collapsed, the Orthodox regained its popularity in society.

It's estimated that about 80 percent of the Russian were Christians, most Orthodox. Many of the Orthodox churches have been restored afterwards.

Orthodox churches are unique for their interior decorations, with delicate religious murals covering the walls and the roofs of the church. It's said that women are forbidden to enter unless they cover their heads, but actually the rule is not as strict for visitors. 

In Moscow, there are many opportunities to meet Christian missionaries, eager to invite you into their religion. We met two in just one day. Aleshev Chevchenko, a young Russian works at an IT company and also a missionary, spoke fluent Chinese when he met us in GUM department store in the Red Square. He told us there were an increasing number of  Chinese interested in Christianity, who he taught on the weekends.

Art at Arbat Street

Don't be upset if you missed the production of Swan Lake, there is art everywhere in Moscow. The main art street in Moscow, old Arbat Street, located just west of Kremlin, is one of the oldest streets in Moscow.

Many of Russia's notable celebrities once resided on this street, including the famed poet Alexander Pushkin. He settled here with his wife at house No.53, and the house later became a museum dedicated to him.

The street is Moscow's art center, and the well-preserved history attracts many artists who bring canvases, painting the street for the whole day. Many portrait painters tried to make a living by drawing pictures of tourists. In the famous Izmailovsky flea market, the majority of art work including paintings and handiworks were all made by the vendors themselves.

One artist who made paintings using his right thumb told us he went to college to study painting, and got a certificate specifically for artists. He is an artist listed in the Russian ArtNow Gallery, an online website for artist and painting lovers. He loved Old Arbat Street, and most of his paintings are set in the street at sunset or at night.

Another way to indulge in the sea of art is by walking into a gallery. Give yourself an easy afternoon to enjoy religious paintings dating back 1,000 years ago, and then jump back into modern art. 

Moscow has many galleries but one of the most famous and a world-renowned museum is the State Tretyakov Gallery. It possesses more than 160,000 works by Russian artists from the 10th century to 19th century, a great opportunity to learn about the history of Russian fine art.

Moscow's metro

After an art tour in the afternoon, try to experience the Moscow's metro system on your way back. It's not just because the metro is faster and more efficient compared to other modes of transportation, but because it is an underground museum of sorts, with a variety of artwork.

There are astonishingly delicate artworks in all Moscow's subway stations, including vivid sculptures, mosaics, paintings and murals. Each station has a unique style of architecture and decoration. The metro opened in 1935, and it now contains 12 lines, mostly underground, with a total of 182 stations.

Moscow's metro is one of the deepest subway systems in the world and has the longest escalators. It was said that Moscow built the metro to prepare for war, and the beautiful artwork was meant to please people hiding there.

Though Moscow's subway system, which transports around 8 million passengers on an average workday, sustained two homicide bombs in two subway stations that killed 38 and injured another 102 two years ago, it still has no security checks.

Thus, one should be careful of taking the subway alone after 10 pm especially if you are visibly a tourist. Safety, after all, is always the priority when visiting any country.