Cuiming Zhuang Binguan, Beijing

Advantages: Frenzied energy of chaotic city, many worldclass tourist attractions, delicious food, incredibly safe & ridiculously cheap.
Disadvantages: Gruesome pollution, occasional racism targeting foreigners & lack of freedom for those who take an organised tour (not recommmended).

...What is Beijing’s appeal? After 5 visits I still do not know. The air is choked with poison, the rivers swim with sewage and yet the city burns with a terrific energy that both excites and intrigues. At first I intended to label Beijing as a love-hate city, but it is not. Impossible to love, yet difficult to hate, Beijing is rather a city that fascinates and overpowers, inspiring in the visitor a unique sense of repulsed wonder and disbelief. Beijing is the only place I have ever seen a dead body. Standing arms spread like Jesus on a motorway intersection, a man calmly tossed himself off the overpass and fell unseen about thirty feet to the tarmac below. Staring down in morbid horror I watched as a growing crowd chattered excitedly. After five minutes a police car cruised up and came to a halt a foot and a half from the body... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Lots to see and do, the great wall, Forbidden City
Disadvantages: Pollution, not the best weather in March, people spitting everywhere

...A short summary This is a travelogue about the trip that my wife, Nikki, and I took to China (Beijing, Xi’an and Hong Kong) in the period from March 15th to March 29th 2003. We first spent 7 days in Beijing and we got to see the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace and so on. From Beijing we took an overnight train to Xi’an and our main goal there was to see the Terra-Cotta Warriors but we also got to see a few other things. And from Xi’an we flew to the city of Shenzhen and from there we took the boat to Hong Kong (HK), where we stayed for about 5 days. In HK we visited Ocean Park, Victoria Peak, the Space Museum and so on. Prelude A couple of years back we thought about going to China and as luck would have it we ended up in Florida instead :-). Well, this time around we were more determined... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Great people, fabulous food
Disadvantages: Pollution levels high, extremes of temperature

...Introduction I've read through most of the reviews on Beijing, but having lived in Beijing for ten years, first as a student, then working, I wanted to give a more personal and in-depth view. I hope that this will help to guide anyone that is planning to visit Beijing in the near future. If you are planning to go, then the first thing that you should do is buy a copy of the Lonely Planet Guide to China - I think there is even one that concentrates on Beijing - this provides invaluable information on places to viist, how to get around the city and has a language guide for emergencies. Getting there A number of airlines fly to Beijing. I recommend Air China, which is cheap, clean and direct. BA is frankly over-priced and Virgin Atlantic flies only to Shanghai. Shop around, prices can vary enormously from travel agent to travel agent... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful