General: Beijing

Advantages: To Have Been There
Disadvantages: No Wild Birds

In China the people say they will eat anything with four legs – except a chair and anything with two wings – except an airplane. Thus we were well prepared for our first evening in the capital of China, Beijing, as our local Chinese guide Jackie took fourteen exhausted UK Voyagers Jules Verne travellers through the open air street market in this remarkable city. Three hundred and sixty five days a year from 6.00 am until midnight and in all the extreme ...
...preparing and cooking food for the hungry passers-by. But what food; Skewers crammed with plucked sparrows; skinned frogs; wriggling scorpions; silk worm cocoons and water rat; all ready to be stir fried and grilled, served and eaten on the go. Snake-burger anyone? Delicious steamed dumplings seemed to be normal fare on this bustling food street and we weren't really shocked at the skewers of scorpions – after all we eat prawns don't we? So what ... Read review

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 ...
...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, which now lay in a great pool of blood. The blood, which had been black before, was now lit brilliant red by ... Read review

Advantages: Very central to all tourist sites, tasty food, good transport
Disadvantages: Most people don't speak English, pollution

Overview I lived in Beijing for 8 years as a student studying at an international school. After arriving from Germany in January 2007, I was overwhelmed by the number of people, the size of the city, the language barrier and the pollution caused by cars, construction sites, factories etc. The city has come a long way and after deciding to rewrite my article, I hope I can describe some of the things that make it so good. Finances Plane tickets to ...
...can range from GBP 300 to GBP 700 for a return economy class ticket, either direct or via transfer (I have flown Air France, Lufthansa, Finnair, Austrian Airlines and Air China before). The exchange rate from the pound to the Yuan is 1;15, meaning that you approximately get 15 RMB (Yuan) for 1 pound. To save you finding a place to stay, book a hotel through a travel agent or so, 5* hotels like the Hilton, Kempinski or Sheraton should be around 65-80 ... Read review

Advantages: Cheap place once you've got there
Disadvantages: the problems one experiances are basically due to the language barrier

Beijing isn't all that I was made to believe it to be it has a touch of the oriental old style with areas such as the Summer palace and the Forbidden city, which are a must see for those who intend on taking back photos of the ancient dynasties. However those who have visited know of how metropolitan the city is it's streets are crammed full of people busy with city life, much the same as London or any other major city. There are towering offices ...
...weave in and out and to be honest leaves the best of us wondering where we are. The city is terrific there are more things to do here thatn in most cities around the world and whats more it's cheap. Areas for shopping are basically well established market places, these include the silk alley, San li Tun (otherwise known as the bar street), there is also a small market that does a bustling trade just outside of the Holiday in here called the Lido. ... Read review

i went there this summer and all the construction work over there give me a headache,but they are doin it for the olympics,so cant blame that!well,apart from that the traffic is not that good either,especially at the peak times,erm...well its same in london and all other big citys!apart from this,beijing is superb,the food over there are so nice better than anything that you hv tried in china town,if you are goin there with the tour,then you dont need to worry abt anything.but just make sure you eat as much as you can,otherwise you will so regret it after you leave there!