Anyone visited Beijing before

Thanks for all your comments, would you advise tours or a DIY approach, bare in mind my mandarin is non nonexistent, so using taxi,bis or sub way maybe a issue.

Not sure if I said we are staying near Tin An Square so fairly local to some sights.

Another question is how much would you say I should take for general stuff like food and drinks (per person).

Tian an men square? That's pretty close to the forbidden city and a few malls. The food can be really cheap or really expensive. I had a Chinese girlfriend who often took me out to eat and try amazing Chinese food and I ended up spending maybe 15 kuai (with beers, etc...) However, if you go to the western restaurants (or those for western people) then you can be looking to spend LOTS more. When I first got to China, I would spend 100 kuai in a restaurant.

Street food is really cheap, but it gets boring really fast. I'm Mexican, so I'm immune to street food, but it might be an issue for you.

Also you can't miss the local massages! Find good place (they usually cost about 50 kuai for an hour or more, and you can always always bargain).

If you go to a hair saloon (those with the spinning wheels), be careful because the girls are prostitutes.

I got scammed out of 2,000 kuai when I first got to China and didn't know anyone so I went sightseeing and a girl offered me a massage. She took me to this place where you pick two very cute 18-20 year old chinese girls who will do everything you want for a few hours. What they don't tell you is that they charge 700 kuai per hour plus all sorts of expenses. However, it was extremely fun getting them drunk and having two hot chinese chicks doing pretty much anything I wanted.

China is an amazing place, but you need lots of money and contacts. Knowledge of Chinese doesn't hurt either!

Hi

I was there about 11 month ago.

do the square and forbidden city. You wont need an organized tour. but if you want you can pick a tour guide there. There are 100s of them touting for business. Also gotta do the Wall. Not too far from Beijing.

Silk Market for the fake gear and electronics (pirate games for chipped xbox wii etc), clothes shoes. Everything you can possibly think of. You will spend a lot of time there but be prepared to be hassled constantly.

South bar street for dozens of bars and clubs all open very late.

Enjoy ( I wish it was me)

Bob

Its an ad for China...

I find the best place to visit is Hangzhou, its not city like, there are beatiful gardens build on the lakes, you can taste some local cuisines and drink a cup of tea, just makes you relax...its very different kind of cultural over there, but overrall i liked it, people are mostly friendly.