As Haymarket wakes up to the Year of the Monkey, the change that has crept over the inner-city suburb throughout the last few decades is developing into a brisk march.

In its north, the final notes of Elton John's last show at the Entertainment Centre rang out last December, and the precinct is now undergoing a complete facelift.

To the west, pedestrians strolling along the six-month-old Goods Line look over architect Frank Gehry's Sydney debut, the Dr Chau Chak Wing Building at UTS.

Soon, light rail will stretch from Central through Chinatown to Circular Quay.