[MRM]

Todd, I was just there, and I believe you will cross paths with my wife; she's traveling there on business and will be there the end of this week and the first part of next. Say hi to her for me if you see her. She's about 5'2". petite, dark brown hair, speaks Mandrin with a Minnesota accent and Minnesotan with a Mandrin accent. I'm sure you'll pick her out of the crowd. PM me for any insights I'm not thinking of here.

If this is your first time to Beijing, do the usual tourist stuff, you'll be amazed and love it. Number one on my list is temple of heaven. That takes about half a day. The same day you can also go to Tiamen Square and then walk across the street to Bei Hai park. That's a good full day, and then use whatever is left to wander through the new and old shopping areas and eat a huge supper. For giggles check out the Porsche dealer in town. Do see the Great Wall. You can do it in about two thirds of a day, or you can spend the whole day there. Getting there at the end of the day isn't a bad idea. The crowds get there early and leave early. Skip the Ming Tombs. Most tours want to bring you to the Ming Tombs and Great Wall at the same time. I'll let you in on a secret: The Ming Tombs are empty. Impressive holes in the ground, though. Do hire a private driver. I went on a local's tour to the Great Wall for about 40 RMB (that's about 5 bucks, Westerners get charged about 50 bucks for a private car or regular tour bus) and spent the day in much closer proximity to the great unwashed masses than I planned. But in a way it was a blast doing it the way the locals do.

Another must see is the Summer Palace. You can take a water taxi to the summer palace from the Beijing Zoo, if I remember correctly. If you do that you can cover both easily in a day. Summer Palace is a must, the zoo is good if you can fit it in.

Skip the Silk Market. It is nothing but stall after stall of fake Polo, Coach, etc. Do spend some time in the new shopping street. The name escapes me now, but it will restore your faith in capitalism. Then deliberately take a taxi ride through the ordinary person's part of town and see how most Chinese live, and have your lack of faith in communism restored.

On that note, keep small bills in your pockets at all times to purchase small items or give to the beggars who will approach you at every subway stop, taxi stand or steeet corner. Giving them a couple of yuan is very good karma and the good feeling you get is well worth the money. Try to buy some art work or something from the local artisans. When you get it back home you'll have something special to remember.

You can't swing a dead cat without hitting a five star Chinese restruant. Do go to Maxims. It's part of the real Paris Maxim's chain and it serves real Maxim's French food. If you are careful you can get real caviar with blinis for the equivelent of $18, the Maxim's brand of sparkling wine (bottled by Perrier, about $60 a bottle at a wine store in the US) for about the same, and a good main dish for about $20. Of course, you can blow a wad there, too. My wife and I had a big night out for under a $100 and we had everything we wanted.

When you bargain, the standard is that the price they will accept is about 1/4 of the price they ask for. Try to get then down to at least 1/3 of what they asked for first. The only way to know if you have a good deal is to walk away. If the deal is good they don't chase after you; if they can come down farther they will and will chase you. Trust me, say no to their price until they stop chasing you, then you turn around and go back to take their last offer.

Do NOT drink the water, even in the hotel. Order bottled water at meals. Use bottled water from a western brand of water to drink and brush your teeth. You can buy water or pop on the steet. They'll charge you 3 yuan for it, if you buy one at the store it's 2, if you buy a whole pack at a grocery store it's about 1 yuan apiece. Buy it from the street vendors and do your good deed for the day and it's worth it for the convenience. The exchange rate is 8 to 1, and the prices are about like spending dollars in the US, so you get about 8 times your usual buying power there. There's a small deposit on the empty bottles, so give your empties to the old man or woman who's collecting them instead of putting them in the trash and she'll be thankfull.

Take lots and lost of pictures. Post them here. Email me if you get stuck there or have any questions. I'll send an English speaking relative out to rescue you. Have a great time and report back here.