Entry Requirements & Customs

Passports

Visitors must have a valid passport with at least 6 months' validity from time of entry into the country, and two blank pages remaining (you may get away with just one blank page).

Visas

All visitors to mainland China (as opposed to Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau) must acquire a visa in advance. Visa applications typically take 3 to 5 working days to process, although this can be shortened to as little as 1 day if you apply in person and pay extra fees. "L" (tourist) visas are valid for between 1 and 3 months. Usually 1 month is granted unless you request more, which you may or may not get according to events in China at the time. Double-entry tourist visas are also available. It varies, but typically your visit must begin within 90 days of the date of issue.

You should apply for a visa in person at your nearest consulate, although it's possible to obtain Chinese visas in other countries while you're on an extended trip. To apply for a visa, you must complete an application form, which can be downloaded from many consular websites or acquired by mail. Visas are valid for the whole country, although some small areas require an extra permit from the local police. Temporary restrictions, sometimes for years at a time, may be placed on areas where there is unrest, and a further permit may be required to enter them. This is currently the case with Tibet, where travelers are required to book a tour with guide and driver to secure a permit. In general, do not mention Tibet or Xinjiang on your visa application, or it may be turned down flat.

Some consulates request that you show them an airline ticket, an itinerary, or proof of sufficient funds, or they claim to issue visas only to those traveling in groups (while happily carrying on business with individuals who have none of the supporting documentation). Such guidelines provide consulates with a face-saving excuse for refusing a visa should there be unrest or political difficulties, or should Tibet or Xinjiang appear on the application.

Children must have their own passport and visa.

A complete list of all Chinese embassies and consulates, including addresses and contact information, can be found at the Chinese foreign ministry's website: www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng (or various mirror sites around the world). Click on "Missions Overseas." Many consulates (including all those in the U.S. and Canada) will accept applications only in person; applications by post or courier must go through an agent, who will charge additional fees. Contacting some embassies can be very difficult: Many telephone systems are automated, and reaching a human can be next to impossible; faxes and e-mails usually don't receive a reply; and websites are often out-of-date.

What follows are visa fees and requirements for some countries:

• Australia: Single-entry visas are A$40; double-entry, A$60. Add A$50 per package dealt with by mail or courier, and a prepaid return envelope. Visit http://au.china-embassy.org/eng for an application. The Chinese Embassy Canberra is at 15 Coronation Dr., Yarralumla, ACT 2600 (tel. 02/6273-4780).

Note: The visa fees quoted above for each country are the current rates for nationals of that country, and can change at any time. In addition to the visa fees quoted, there may be supplementary fees for postage. Payment must always be in cash or by money order.

Visa Extensions -- Single-entry tourist visas may be extended twice for a maximum of 30 days each time at the PSB Exit/Entry Division offices in most cities. The office in Beijing (tel. 010/8402-0101) is on the south side of the eastern North Second Ring Road, just east of the Lama Temple metro stop (Mon-Sat 8:30am-4:30pm). You will also need your Registration Form of Temporary Residence (your hotel should have a copy) and a certificate of deposit issued by a Chinese bank (ICBC, Bank of China, and so on) proving you have at least US$100 per day for the duration of your stay; for example, if you are requesting a 30-day extension, you need to show US$3,000 in a certificate of deposit. Applications take 5 working days to process. Bring your passport and two passport photos (these can be taken at the office for ¥30). Extension fees vary by nationality: Australians and Canadians pay ¥160, U.K. citizens ¥469, and U.S. citizens ¥940.

Getting a Visa in Hong Kong -- Nationals of most developed nations do not require a visa to enter Hong Kong, and visas for mainland China are more easily obtainable there than anywhere else.

The cheapest tourist visas are available at the Visa Office of the PRC, 7th Floor, Lower Block, China Resources Building, 26 Harbour Rd., Wanchai (tel. 852/3413-2424; www.fmcoprc.gov.hk; Mon-Fri 9am-noon and 2-5pm). Here a single-entry tourist visa costs HK$210 for Australians and Canadians, HK$500 for citizens of the U.K., and HK$1,080 for U.S. citizens. Same-day service costs at least double. For urgent departures, or 6-month "F" (fangwen) visas, go to Grand Profit International Travel Agency, 705AA, 7th Floor, New East Ocean Centre, 9 Science Museum Rd., Tsimshatsui (about a 15-min. walk east of Nathan Rd.; tel. 852/2723-3288).

Customs

What You Can Bring into China -- In general terms, you can bring anything into China for personal use that you plan to take back with you, with the usual exceptions of arms and drugs, or plant materials, animals, and foods from diseased areas. There are no problems with cameras or video recorders, GPS equipment, laptops, or any other standard electronic equipment. Two unusual prohibitions are "old/used garments" and "printed matter, magnetic media, films, or photographs which are deemed to be detrimental to the political, economic, cultural, and moral interests of China," as the regulations put it. Large quantities of religious literature, overtly political materials, or books on Tibet might cause you difficulties but, in general, small amounts of personal reading matter in non-Chinese languages do not present problems. Customs officers are for the most part easygoing, and foreign visitors are rarely searched. Customs declaration forms have now vanished from all major points of entry, but if you are importing more than US$5,000 in cash, you should declare it, or theoretically you could face difficulties at the time of departure -- although, again, this is highly unlikely.

What You Can Take Home from China -- An official seal must be attached to any item created between 1795 and 1949 that is taken out of China; older items cannot be exported. But, in fact, you are highly unlikely to find any genuine antiques, so this is moot (however, a genuine antiques dealer would know how to obtain the seal).

For information on what you're allowed to bring home, contact one of the following agencies:

Australian Citizens: Australian Customs Service at tel. 1300/363-263, or log on to www.customs.gov.au.

Canadian Citizens: Canada Border Services Agency (tel. 800/461-9999 in Canada, or 204/983-3500; www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca).

New Zealand Citizens: New Zealand Customs, The Customhouse, 17-21 Whitmore St., Box 2218, Wellington (tel. 04/473-6099 or 0800/428-786; www.customs.govt.nz).

U.K. Citizens: HM Customs & Excise at tel. 0845/010-9000 (from outside the U.K., 020/8929-0152), or consult their website at www.hmce.gov.uk.

U.S. Citizens: U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP; tel. 877/287-8667; www.cbp.gov).

Medical Requirements

Unless you're arriving from an area known to be suffering from an epidemic (particularly cholera or yellow fever), inoculations or vaccinations are not required for entry into Beijing. In the recent past, China has been known to go overboard in its reaction to media-fanned epidemics and pandemics. In mid-2009, the H1N1 flu pandemic caused headaches for many Beijing travelers. At China's international airports, quarantine officials targeted aircraft from countries where the virus had been detected (including the United States and Canada). Disembarking passengers had their temperatures measured and filled in questionnaires disclosing where they were staying and how they could be contacted. Some travelers found themselves immediately quarantined after showing signs of the virus; others were allowed to leave the airport only to be quarantined later (after health officials tracked them down at hotels or private residences) because they sat too close to another passenger with a fever or other flu symptoms.

Health & Insurance

Staying Healthy

Should you begin to feel unwell in China, your first contact should be your hotel reception. Many major hotels have doctors on staff who will give a first diagnosis and treatment for minor problems, and who will be aware of the best places to send foreigners for further treatment.

Be very cautious about what is prescribed for you. Doctors are poorly paid, and many earn kickbacks from pharmaceutical companies for prescribing expensive medicines. Antibiotics are handed out like candy; indeed, dangerous and powerful drugs of all kinds can be bought over the counter at pharmacies. In general, the best policy is to stay as far away from Chinese healthcare as possible.

Common Ailments

Tummy Troubles -- The greatest risk to the enjoyment of a holiday in China is an upset stomach or a more serious illness arising from low hygiene standards. Keep your hands frequently washed and away from your mouth. Only eat freshly cooked hot food, and fruit you can peel yourself -- avoid touching the part to be eaten once it's been peeled. The CDC's advice "boil it, cook it, peel it, or forget it" is a golden rule while traveling in Beijing. We highly recommend drinking only bottled water, though most stomachs can handle the boiled water that is used to brew tea in Chinese restaurants. Never drink from the tap. Use bottled water for brushing your teeth.

Respiratory Illnesses -- The second most common cause of discomfort in Beijing is an upper respiratory tract infection, or common cold, which is caused by heavy pollution. Many standard Western remedies or sources of relief (and occasionally fake versions of these) are available over the counter, but bring a supply of whatever you are used to. If you have sensitive eyes, you may wish to bring an eye bath and solution.

Sun/Elements/Extreme Weather Exposure -- Standard precautions should be taken against exposure to strong summer sun. Its brightness may be dimmed by Beijing's pollution, but the sun's power to burn is undiminished.

Bugs, Bites & Other Wildlife Concerns -- Mosquito-borne malaria comes in various forms, and you may need to take two different prophylactic drugs, depending upon the time you travel, whether you venture into rural areas, and where you go. You must begin to take these drugs 1 week before you enter an affected area and for 4 weeks after you leave it, sometimes longer. For a visit to Beijing and other major cities only, prophylaxis is usually unnecessary.

Safety

China is one of Asia's safest destinations. As anywhere else, though, you should be cautious of theft in places such as crowded markets, popular tourist sites, bus and railway stations, and airports. Take standard precautions against pickpockets (distribute your valuables around your person and wear a money belt inside your clothes). The main danger of walking the ill-lit streets at night is of falling down an uncovered manhole. There's no need to be concerned about dressing down or not flashing valuables -- it's automatically assumed that all foreigners, even the scruffiest backpackers, are astonishingly rich, and the average Chinese cannot tell a Cartier from any other shiny watch.

Visitors should be cautious of various scams, especially in areas of high tourist traffic, and of Chinese who approach and say in English, "Hello, friend! Welcome to China!" or something similar. Scam artists who want to practice their English and suggest moving to some local haunt may leave you with a bill which has two zeros more than it should, and with trouble should you decline to pay. "Art students" are a pest, approaching you with a story about raising funds for a show overseas, but in fact enticing you into a shop where you will be lied to extravagantly about the authenticity, uniqueness, originality, and true cost of various paintings you will be pressured into buying. The man who is foolish enough to accept an invitation from pretty girls to sing karaoke deserves all the hot water in which he will find himself, up to being forced by large, well-muscled gentlemen to visit an ATM and withdraw large sums to pay for services not actually provided.

If you are a victim of theft, make a police report (go to the same addresses given for visa extensions; you are most likely to find an English-speaking policeman there). But don't expect sympathy, cooperation, or action. The purpose is to get a theft report to give to your insurers for compensation.

Harassment of solo female travelers is very rare, but slightly more likely if the traveler appears to be of Chinese descent.

Traffic is a major hazard for the cautious and incautious alike. In mainland China, driving is on the right, at least occasionally. The rules of the road are routinely ignored for the one overriding rule, "I'm bigger than you so get out of my way," and pedestrians are at the bottom of the pecking order. Cyclists come along the sidewalk, and cars mount it right in front of you and park across your path as if you don't exist. Cyclists go in both directions along the bike lane at the side of the road, which is also invaded by cars looking to mount the sidewalk to park. The edges of the main road also usually have cyclists going in both directions. The vehicle drivers are gladiators, competing for any way to move into space ahead, constantly changing lanes and crossing each other's paths. Pedestrians are like matadors pausing between lanes as cars sweep by to either side of them. Pedestrians often edge out into traffic together, causing cars to swerve away from them, often into the paths of oncoming vehicles, until one lane of traffic parts and flows to either side, and the process is repeated for the next lane.

In mainland China, in casual encounters, non-Chinese are treated as something between a cute pet and a bull in a china shop, and sometimes with pitying condescension because they are too stupid to speak Chinese. At sights, Chinese tourists from out of town may ask to have their picture taken with you, which will be fun to show friends in their foreigner-free hometowns. ("Look! Here's me with the Elephant Man!") Unless you are of Chinese (or even Asian) descent, your foreignness is constantly thrust in your face with catcalls of "laowai," a not particularly courteous term for foreigner, and a bit like shouting "Chinky" at a Chinese you encounter at home. Mocking, and usually falsetto, calls of "Helloooooo" are not greetings but are similar to saying "Pretty Polly!" to a parrot. Whether acknowledged or not (and all this is best ignored), these calls are usually followed by giggles. But there's little other overt discrimination, other than persistent overcharging wherever it can possibly be arranged. In general, however, once some sort of communication is established, foreigners get better treatment from Chinese, both officials and the general public, than the Chinese give each other. People with darker skin do have a harder time than whites -- some cab drivers will outright refuse or ignore black passengers -- but those who do not speak Mandarin will probably not notice.

When to Go

The biggest factor in your calculations on when to visit Beijing should be the movement of domestic tourists, who during the longer public holidays take to the road in tens or even hundreds of millions, flooding transportation, booking out hotels, and turning even the quieter tourist sights into litter-strewn bedlam.

Peak Travel Seasons

Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) -- Like many Chinese festivals, this one operates on the lunar calendar. Solar equivalents for the next few years are February 14, 2010; February 3, 2011; January 23, 2012; and February 10, 2013. The effects of this holiday are felt from 2 weeks before the date until 2 weeks after, when anyone who's away from home attempts to get back, including an estimated 225 million migrant workers. If you are flying from overseas to Beijing, this won't affect you, but a land approach may be difficult, except in the few days immediately surrounding the holiday. Banks, as well as smaller restaurants and businesses, may be shut for a week. But main attractions are mostly open.

Labor Day & National Day -- In a policy known as "holiday economics," the May 1 and October 1 holidays have been reduced to 3 days each (including 1 weekend -- most people are expected to work through the weekend prior to the holiday in exchange for 2 weekdays, which are added to the official 3 days of holiday). These two holidays now mark the beginning and end of the domestic travel season, and mark the twin peaks of leisure travel, with the remainder of May, early June, and September also busy. The exact dates of each holiday are not announced until around 2 weeks before each takes place.

Climate

For the best weather, visit Beijing in September or October when warm, dry, sunny days with clear skies and pleasantly cool evenings are the norm. The second-best time is spring, late March to mid-May, when winds blow away the pollution but also sometimes bring clouds of scouring sand for a day or two, turning the sky a livid yellow. Winters can be bitter, but the city is much improved visually under a fresh blanket of snow: The gaudy colors of the Forbidden City's palaces are emphasized, as is the Great Wall's bleakness. Summers are humid and hot, but air-conditioning makes them tolerable. The number of foreign visitors is high during summer, but the Chinese themselves mostly wait until the weather cools before traveling.

Holidays

A few years ago the Chinese were finally granted a 2-day weekend, but while offices close, shops, restaurants, post offices, transportation, and sights all operate the same services 7 days a week. Most sights, shops, and restaurants are open on public holidays, too, but offices and anything government-related close for as much time as possible. Although China switched to the Gregorian calendar in 1911, some public holidays (and many festivals) are on a lunar cycle, with solar dates varying from year to year. Holidays are New Year's Day (Jan 1), Spring Festival (Chinese New Year's day and the following 2 days -- see "Peak Travel Seasons" above, for exact dates in coming years), Labor Day (May 1 plus up to 4 more weekdays and a weekend), and National Day (Oct 1 plus extra days, as for Labor Day).

Tips for Gay and Lesbian Travelers

Homosexuality was removed from an official list of mental illnesses only in 2001, but the situation (while still grim) has improved in recent years. In 2009, China had its first ever representative at the World Outgames and held its first gay-pride event in Shanghai. Beijing has a few gay bars of note, and the expatriate magazine Time Out recently broke the long-standing taboo against using the words "gay" and "lesbian" with its monthly "G&L" column. The International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) (tel. 954/630-1637; www.iglta.org) lists three gay-friendly organizations dealing with in-bound visitors to China.

Money

Frommer's lists exact prices in the local currency. However, rates fluctuate, so before departing consult a currency exchange website such as www.xe.com/ucc to check up-to-the-minute rates.

Currency

While for most destinations it's usually a good idea to exchange at least some money before you leave home so you can avoid the less-favorable rates at airport currency-exchange desks, mainland China is different. Renminbi (RMB) yuan are not easily obtainable overseas, and rates are worse when they can be found.

There is no legal private money-changing in mainland China. Nationwide outlets offer the same rates on a daily basis. You can exchange currency at the airport when you arrive, at larger branches of the Bank of China, at a bank desk in your hotel, or at major department stores. Shops that offer to exchange money at other than formal Bank of China exchange counters do so illegally, and are known for rate shenanigans and passing fake bills, which are fairly common. Do not deal with black market money-changers.

Keep receipts when you exchange money, and you can reconvert excess RMB yuan into hard currency when you leave China, although sometimes not more than half the total sum for which you can produce receipts, and sometimes these receipts must be not more than 3 months old.

Hotel exchange desks will change money only for their guests but are open very long hours, 7 days a week. Banking hours vary from branch to branch but are limited on Saturday, and banks are closed on Sunday.

Yuan Notes -- There are notes for ¥100, ¥50, ¥20, ¥10, ¥5, ¥2, and ¥1, which also appears as a coin. The word yuan is rarely spoken, and sums are referred to as kuai qian, "pieces of money," usually shortened to just kuai. San kuai is ¥3. Notes carry Arabic numerals as well as numbers in Chinese characters, so there's no fear of confusion. The next unit down, the jiao (¥.10), is spoken of as the mao. There are notes of a smaller size for ¥.50, ¥.20, and ¥.10, as well as coins for these values. The smallest and almost worthless unit is the fen (both written and spoken), or cent. Unbelievably, when you change money you may be given tiny notes or lightweight coins for ¥.05, ¥.02, and ¥.01, but this is the only time you'll see them except in the bowls of beggars or donation boxes in temples. The most useful note is the ¥10, so keep a good stock. Street stalls, convenience stores, and taxis are often unhappy to receive ¥100 notes.

Exchange Rates: the Yuan, the Dollar, the Pound & the "Crawling Peg" -- In a bid to avert a trade war with the U.S., China allowed a 2% appreciation of the yuan in 2005. It is no longer pegged solely to the U.S. dollar, but rather to a basket of currencies, in an arrangement known as a "crawling peg." The U.S. dollar has recently been trading around ¥6.8, the pound sterling at ¥11, and the euro at ¥9.4. The latest rates can be found at www.xe.com/ucc.

ATMs

There are many ATMs in China. Bank of China, ICBC, and China Construction Bank machines are reliable and accept foreign cards. Bank of America members can withdraw from China Construction Bank ATMs without a fee. Check the back of your ATM card for the logos of the Cirrus (www.mastercard.com), PLUS (www.visa.com), and Aeon (www.americanexpress.com) systems, and then contact the relevant company for a list of working ATM locations in Beijing, which is fairly well served. The capital also has seven Citibank branches (the most convenient being at Oriental Plaza) and eight branches of HSBC. These banks have ATMs that take just about any card ever invented. Bank of China machines have a limit of ¥2,500 per transaction, while HSBC and Citibank machines have a limit of ¥3,500 to ¥4,000. These banks often allow a second transaction the same day. Call tel. 95533 within China for locations. Note: If you have memorized your PIN as a word, be sure to learn it as a number.

Traveler's Checks

Traveler's checks are accepted only at selected branches of the Bank of China, at foreign exchange desks in hotels, and at the exchange desks of some department stores. In bigger bank branches, checks in any hard currency and from any major company are welcome, but at department store exchange desks, currencies of the larger economies are preferred. You can exchange U.S. dollars in cash at most branches of almost any Chinese bank, so even if you plan to bring checks, having a few U.S. dollars in cash (in good condition) for emergencies is a good idea. Checks attract a marginally better exchange rate than cash, but the commission (generally 1%) to cash checks makes the result slightly worse (worse still if you paid the general 1-4% commission when buying them).

Credit Cards

Although Visa and MasterCard signs abound, credit cards are of limited usefulness -- in many cases only the Chinese versions of the cards are accepted. You can use foreign cards at most hotels, but they are accepted only at relatively upmarket restaurants outside hotels, and at those souvenir shops where you are paying well over the odds -- in fact, if a shop accepts foreign credit cards, you might consider looking elsewhere.

You can also obtain cash advances on your MasterCard, Visa, Diners Club, or Amex cards at major branches of the Bank of China, with a minimum withdrawal of ¥1,200 and 4% commission, plus whatever your card issuer charges you -- this expensive way to withdraw cash makes sense only for emergencies. If you do plan to use your card while in China, it's a good idea to call your issuer in advance to let them know that you'll do so.

Emergency Cash

American Express runs an emergency check-cashing system, which allows you to use one of your own checks or a counter check (more expensively) to draw money in the currency of your choice from selected banks. Consult American Express for a list of participating banks before leaving home.

You can also have money wired from Western Union (tel. 800/820-8668; www.westernunion.com) to you at many post offices and branches of the Agricultural Bank of China across China, including 50 in Beijing. Western Union charges a $14 service fee for money transfers of up to $1,000 to China from the U.S. You must present a valid ID to pick up the cash at the Western Union office.

Getting There

By Plane

On direct, nonstop flights, China's own international airlines always offer rates slightly lower than those of foreign carriers. Cabin staff try to be helpful but are never quite sure how. Air China only recently suffered its first and only fatal accident and should not be confused with China Airlines from Taiwan, at quite the other end of the scale. Departure tax is now included in the price of your ticket.

Beijing's international airport (PEK) is about 20km (12 miles) north of downtown. A new terminal, T3, was added in 2008 to handle the extra traffic during the Olympics. Several major airlines moved their operations to the shinier new building, including Air China, British Airways, Singapore Airlines, and Dragon Air.

Getting into Town from the Airport
Taxi -- You will be pestered by taxi touts as soon as you emerge from Customs. Never go with these people. The signposted taxi rank is straight ahead and has a line that mostly works, although a few people will always try to cut in front of you. Line up at the two-lane rank, and a marshal will direct you to the next available vehicle as you reach the front of the line. Rates are clearly posted on the side of each cab. All cabs are ¥2 per kilometer. After 15km (9 1/3 miles), rates increase by 50%. If you only want to go to the hotels (such as the Westin, Kempinski, Hilton, or Sheraton) in the San Yuan Qiao area, where the Airport Expressway meets the Third Ring Road, your taxi driver may be a bit grumpy, but that's his bad luck.

Expect to pay around ¥80 to the eastern part of the city and around ¥100 to the central hotels. These estimates include the meter rate and a ¥10 expressway toll, which you'll see the driver pay en route. Fares to the central hotels will increase significantly if you travel during rush hours (8-9am and 3:30-7pm). For most of the day, you can reach hotels on the Third Ring Road within about 30 minutes, and central hotels in about 45 minutes -- the latter trip may rise to more than an hour during rush hours.

Airport Buses -- Air-conditioned services, run by two different companies, leave from in front of the domestic arrivals area. The Airport Shuttle Bus (¥16) runs five routes; the most useful, Line 2 to Xidan, runs every 10 minutes from 7am to last arrival. Destinations include San Yuan Qiao (near the Hilton and Sheraton hotels), the Dong Zhi Men and Dong Si Shi Tiao metro stations, and the CAAC ticket office in Xidan. Lines 1 through 5 all pass through San Yuan Qiao, but only Line 2 lets off passengers at a location convenient for picking up taxis to continue to other destinations. Most hotels in the center of the city can be reached by taxi for under ¥30 from there. If you're staying in the university district, save yourself a bundle and take Line 5 to Zhongguancun Bridge. From there it is a ¥10 to ¥20 taxi ride to most of the major universities. For more detail on the airport buses and where they stop, check out the airport's website, www.bcia.com.cn.

There is also a Kong Gang Bus for ¥1 to ¥3 available at the exit of both terminal buildings. It stops at destinations very close to the airport (Ying Hua Yuan, Guo Tai Guang Chang, and the Airport Hotel).

Express Train -- The new airport express train to Dong Zhi Men is a mixed blessing. For ¥25, you'll get yourself to downtown Beijing in about 20 minutes. You can use regular metro cards for the journey. Unfortunately, the logistics of taking the train can be incredibly annoying. The mandatory X-ray machine at the airport station often means waiting in line and then heaving your heavy suitcases onto the conveyor belt. Getting to street level at Dong Zhi Men involves a short escalator and then a steep set of stairs (there's an elevator after the escalator but it doesn't take you all the way to street level). Then there's the madness of hailing down a cab around the hordes of public buses just outside the station. Passengers are funneled into the northeast exit of Dong Zhi Men, and if you want to get to any of the other three corner exits, you will have to pay the ¥2 subway fare to walk through the subway station. If you want to switch to the subway, expect more stairs and yet another X-ray machine. The express train also stops at San Yuan Qiao, a short cab ride away from the hotels on Third Ring.

By Car

Foreign visitors are not permitted to drive their own vehicles into China, unless arrangements are made far in advance with a state-recognized travel agency for a specific itinerary. The agency will provide a guide who will travel in your vehicle, or in a second vehicle with a driver, and make sure you stick to the planned route. You will have to cover all the (marked-up) costs of guide, driver, and extra vehicle if needed, and of Chinese plates for your vehicle. The agency will book and overcharge you for all your hotels and for as many excursions as it can. Forget it.

By Train

From Hung Hom station in Kowloon (Hong Kong), expresses run directly to Beijing's West Station on alternate days (see the Intercity Passenger Services section on www.kcr.com.hk for schedules and fares). From Moscow weekly trains arrive via Ulaan Baatar in Mongolia, and weekly via a more easterly route directly to Harbin in China's northeast and down to the capital. There's also a separate weekly run from Ulaan Baatar to Beijing. Trains run twice weekly from Hanoi in Vietnam to Beijing West via Guilin. There's also a service between Beijing and Pyongyang in North Korea, but you'll be on that only if you've joined an organized tour.

By Boat

Ferries connect from Incheon in South Korea (http://english.visitkorea.or.kr) and from Shimonoseki and Kobe in Japan (www.celkobe.co.jp) to Tianjin, a couple of hours from Beijing.

Getting Around

Traveling Beyond Beijing

By Plane

Daily direct flights connect Capital Airport to nearly every major Chinese city, including Shanghai for around ¥1,130, Guangzhou for ¥1,700, Xi'an for ¥1,050, Chengdu for ¥1,440, and Lhasa for ¥2,430. Prices vary widely, according to the season and your bargaining skills, and may be reduced to half the amounts quoted here. Much Chinese domestic flying is done on a walk-up basis, but the best discount is never available at the airport. The aviation authority officially permits the airlines to discount to a maximum of 40% on domestic flights, but discounts of 50%, sometimes even more, are not uncommon at ticket agencies.

Tickets for domestic flights (and international flights) on Chinese airlines are best purchased through a travel agent, such as Airtrans, C12 Guang Hua Lu, opposite Kerry Centre (tel. 010/6595-2255), or in one of two main ticketing halls: the Aviation Building (Minhang Dalou; tel. 010/6656-9988; fax 010/6656-9333; 24 hr.) at Xi Chang'an Jie 15, just east of the Xidan metro station; or the Airlines Ticketing Hall (tel. 010/8402-8198; fax 010/6401-5307; 9am-7pm), at 6/F Building B, Zhong Ding Da Sha, Bei San Huan Xilu A18 (subway line 13, at Da Zhong Si stop). You can use a credit card at the ticketing hall. Ctrip and eLong are two companies that offer excellent prices on domestic and international tickets through their online websites www.english.ctrip.com and www.elong.net. You can book flights online and pay for tickets in cash upon delivery. You can also pay by credit card (expect a 3-5% surcharge) after faxing through a credit card authorization form. If you hate the Internet, both companies have English-speaking agents that can walk you through the booking and payment process.

Booking from overseas via websites offering tickets for Chinese domestic flights, most of which do not appear on international ticketing systems, is always a mistake. You'll nearly always be charged the full price (which is generally paid by only a handful of people traveling at peak times at the last minute), and probably a booking fee, too.

Most hotels can arrange tickets for flights on foreign airlines, but they tend to levy hefty service fees. The airline offices themselves do not usually attempt to match the prices offered by agents, but are merely a source of the price to beat elsewhere. Special offers are often published in the monthly expat magazines The Beijinger and Time Out, but sometimes agents undercut even these, or they bend the rules on advance booking requirements to give an advance-purchase price at the last minute.

By Train

The main railway stations are Beijing Railway Station (Beijing Zhan; tel. 010/5101-9999) and West Station (Xi Ke Zhan; schedule information tel. 010/5182-4233). Tickets can be purchased at these stations for any train leaving Beijing up to 4 days in advance, and during the busiest seasons up to 10 days in advance. It is possible to buy round-trip tickets (fancheng piao) to major destinations like Shanghai or Xi'an up to 12 days in advance, subject to availability. Nineteen new Z trains, which depart at night and arrive early the following morning, directly connect with other cities. Cities served are Changchun, Changsha, Hangzhou, Harbin, Hefei, Nanjing, Shanghai (five trains), Suzhou, Wuhan (four trains), Xi'an, and the newly opened railway station in Yangzhou. All compartments are spanking new, and staff is more enthusiastic than on other services. Television screens have been installed in soft-sleeper compartments, which may disturb your night's rest. Tickets for Z trains may be purchased 20 days in advance.

Satellite ticket offices (tielu shoupiao chu) scattered throughout the city charge a negligible ¥5 service fee; convenient branches are just inside the main entrance of the Sanhe Baihuo (department store), south of the Xin (Sun) Dong An Plaza on Wangfujing Dajie (9am-9pm); at the Shatan Shoupiao Chu farther north at Ping'an Dadao 45, west of Jiaodaokou Nan Dajie (tel. 010/6403-6803; 8am-6pm); and at the Gongti Dong Lu Shoupiao Chu (tel. 010/6509-3783) in Sanlitun, opposite and slightly south of the Workers' Stadium east gate. Tickets for all trains from Beijing can also be booked free of charge at Beijing South Station (Beijing Nan Zhan; tel. 010/5186-7999) and at Beijing North Station (Beijing Bei Zhan, tel. 010/5186-6223), which is more conveniently located just north of the Xi Zhi Men metro station. Ordinary travel agents without computers on the railway system will usually also handle rail-ticket bookings. The fee per ticket should be no more than ¥20, including delivery to your hotel, although some agencies like to take foreign visitors for a ride in more than one sense. Ticket desks in hotels may charge up to ¥50 per ticket.

At Beijing Railway Station, the best place to pick up tickets is the "ticket office for foreigners" inside the soft-berth waiting room on the ground floor of the main hall, in the far-left corner (5:30am-11pm). Tickets for both versions of the Trans-Siberian, the Russian K19 via Manchuria (Sat 10:56pm) and the Chinese K3 via Mongolia (Wed 7:40am), must be purchased from the CITS international railway ticket office inside the International Hotel (tel. 010/6512-0507 or 6512-0507; Mon-Fri 8:30am-noon and 1:30-5pm, weekends 9am-noon and 1:30-4pm) 10 minutes' walk north of the station on Jianguo Men Nei Dajie (metro: Dong Dan). Both trains travel to Moscow for ¥2,512 soft sleeper, but only the K3 passes through Mongolia and stops in Ulaan Baatar for ¥845. There is a separate train, the K23, which goes to Ulaan Baatar (Sat 7:40am).

At the West Station, the best ticket outlet is not the main ticket hall but a second office inside the main building, on the second floor to the left of the elevators (signposted in English); this is also where you go to purchase tickets for the Q97 express to Kowloon/Jiulong (departs daily at noon; 25 hr.; ¥738 soft sleeper, ¥465 hard). The West Station is also the starting point for trains to Hanoi, but you have to buy tickets (departs at 4:08pm Thurs and Sun; 34 hr.; ¥2,204 soft sleeper only) at a China Railway Travel Service, 1st Floor, Building 20 of Tie Dong Compound, Bei Feng Wo Lu (tel. 010/5182-6541; 9am-4:30pm). The nearest airport shuttle stops at the Aviation Building in Xidan , reachable by bus no. 52 from the station's east side. The taxi rank is on the second floor.

Warning: Larger baggage is X-rayed at the entrances to most Chinese railway and bus stations. Keep film in your hand baggage.

Calendar of Events

Festivals are more family affairs in Beijing, which doesn't have much of a calendar of public events compared with some other parts of China.

For an exhaustive list of events beyond those listed here, check http://events.frommers.com, where you'll find a searchable, up-to-the-minute roster of what's happening in cities all over the world.

Winter

Spring Festival (Chun Jie), or Chinese New Year, is still the occasion for large lion dances and other celebrations in Chinatowns worldwide, but in mainland China it's mainly a time for everyone to return to his or her ancestral home and feast. Fireworks are now banned in Beijing; however, temple fairs have been revived but are mostly fairly low-key shopping opportunities without much of the color or professional entertainers of old. But in the countryside, there's been a gradual revival of stilt walking and masked processions. New Year is on the day of the first new moon after January 21, and can be no later than February 20.

Lantern Festival (Deng Jie) perhaps reached its peak in the late Qing dynasty, when temples, stores, and other public places were hung with fantastically shaped and decorated lanterns. Many people paraded through the streets with lightweight lanterns in the shapes of fish, sheep, or other animals, and hung others, often decorated with riddles, outside their houses. There are modest signs of a revival. This festival always falls 15 days after Spring Festival.

Spring

Tomb-Sweeping Festival (Qingming) is frequently observed in Chinese communities overseas, and more often in rural areas of China, as a family outing on a free day near the festival date. It's a day for honoring ancestors by visiting and tidying their gravesites, and making offerings of snacks and alcohol, which often turns into a picnic. It is now an official holiday and people usually get a long weekend. April 4.

Autumn

The last remnant of the Mid-Autumn Festival (Tuanyuan Jie), except among literary-minded students, is the giving and eating of yuebing (moon cakes), circular pies with sweet and extremely fattening fillings. Traditionally it's a time to sit and read poetry under the full moon, but pollution has made the moon largely invisible. Like the Tomb-Sweeping Festival, this is now an official holiday and companies usually grant a 3-day weekend. Takes place the 15th day of the 8th lunar month (usually Sept).

National Day itself is for avoiding Tian'an Men Square, especially if the government considers the anniversary important enough for one of its military parades, when the square may be blocked to you anyway. October 1.

Tips for Families

Beijing is not the place to make your first experiment in traveling with small children, although it's a better choice than anywhere else in China. Your biggest challenges will be the lack of services or entertainment aimed at children, the lack of familiar foods outside the bigger hotels and fast-food chains (unless your children have been brought up with Chinese/Asian food), and hygiene.

Some children find Chinese strangers a little too hands-on, and may tire of forced encounters (and photo sessions) with Chinese children met on the street. But the Chinese put their children firmly first, and stand up on buses while the young ones sit.

China is grubby at best, and for children who still have a tendency to put their hands in their mouths, constant vigilance will be necessary, or constant toilet visits will result. Older children should be instructed on frequent hand washing and special caution with food.

Some familiar Western brands of disposable diapers, along with familiar creams and lotions, are available in Beijing.

Beijing hotels generally don't charge for children 12 and under who share a room with their parents. Almost all hotels will add a bed, turning a double room into a triple, for an extra ¥80 to ¥100, which you can often bargain down.

Although babysitting services are not uncommon in the best hotels (the Sino-foreign joint ventures with familiar names, in particular), in most cases the babysitters will speak very little English or none at all, will have no qualifications in child-care, and will simply be members of the housekeeping staff.

All restaurants welcome children, but outside the Western fast-food outlets, some Chinese copies of those, and major hotels, don't expect highchairs or special equipment except very occasionally. The general Chinese eating method of ordering several dishes to share will at least allow your child to order whatever he or she deems acceptable (although it will not taste the same in any two restaurants), while allowing you to try new dishes at each meal.

Although Chinese food in Beijing is different from (and mostly vastly superior to) Chinese food served in the West, it would still be wise to acclimate children as much as possible before leaving by making trips to the local Chinese restaurant. In many cases only chopsticks will be available, so consider taking forks and spoons with you to China. You can now find McDonald's (complete with play areas), KFC, and Pizza Hut in Beijing, and almost all hotels of four stars or up have coffee shops which deliver poor attempts at Western standards.

Keep in mind that although Western cooking is available at many excellent Beijing restaurants, authenticity comes at a price. Cheap bakeries, however, often sell buttery cakes and close relatives of the muffin containing raisins and chopped walnuts.

In general, attractions for children are few, and exploring temples may quickly pall. Success here will depend upon your ability to provide amusement from nothing, and the sensitivity of your antennae to what captures your child's imagination.

Discounts for children on travel tickets and entrance fees are based on height, not age. There are variations, but typically children below 1.1m (3 ft., 7 in.) enter free and travel free if they do not occupy a seat on trains and buses. Children between 1.1m and 1.4m (4 ft., 7 in.) pay half-price. Many ticket offices have marks on the wall at the relevant heights so that staff can quickly determine the appropriate price.

Tips for Travelers with Disabilities

For a city that recently hosted the Paralympics, Beijing remains shockingly inaccessible for travelers with disabilities. If you do choose to come here, travel with a specialist group (although such tours to Beijing and China are rare) or with someone fully familiar with your particular needs. The Chinese hide people with disabilities, who are rarely seen unless reduced to begging, when they may even be subjected to taunting (although this won't happen to foreigners).

Beijing is difficult for those with limited mobility. The sidewalks are very uneven, and public buildings, sights, and hotels almost always have stairs with no alternative ramps. There are tactile guided paths in certain areas of the city, but they are often blocked by parked cars or simply unfinished. Accessibility in metro stations is a mixed bag (some stations have wheelchair rail staircases, others do not); any escalators usually run up only; and elevators are few and far between. Wheelchair-accessible cabs hit Beijing's roads during the 2008 Paralympic Games, but they are extremely scarce these days.

In theory, some major hotels in the largest cities have wheelchair-accessible rooms, but rarely are they properly executed.

Staying Connected

Internet Phone

Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, is a popular and affordable way to stay connected while overseas. Skype (www.skype.com) is a well-known application that allows fellow Skype users to talk and/or videoconference for free, and also connects to landlines for affordable rates. Whatever VoIP you chose, I recommend downloading the software onto your computer in advance; that way you can familiarize yourself with it before you travel abroad.

Telephones

To call China: -- 1. Dial the international access code: 011 in the U.S. and Canada, 00 in the U.K., Ireland, and New Zealand, or 0011 from Australia.

2. Dial the country code: 86 for China.

3. Dial the city code, omitting the leading zero, and then dial the number. To reach Beijing from the U.S., you would dial 011-86-10-plus the 8-digit number.

To call within China: For calls within the same city, omit the city code, which always begins with a zero when used (010 for Beijing, 020 for Guangzhou, for example). All hotel phones have direct dialing, and most have international dialing. Hotels are only allowed to add a service charge of up to 15% to the cost of the call, and even long-distance rates within China are very low. To use a public telephone you'll need an IC (integrated circuit) card (aicei ka), available from post offices, convenience stores, and street stalls, available in values beginning at ¥20 (wherever you can make out the letters IC among the Chinese characters). A brief local call is typically ¥.30 to ¥.50. Phones show you the value remaining on the card when you insert it, and count down as you talk.

To make international calls: First dial 00 and then dial the country code (U.S. or Canada 1, U.K. 44, Ireland 353, Australia 61, New Zealand 64). Next dial the area or city code, omitting any leading zero, and then dial the number. For example, if you want to call the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., you would dial 00-1-202-588-7800. Forget bringing access numbers for your local phone company -- you can call internationally for a fraction of the cost by using an IP (Internet Protocol) card (aipi ka), available wherever you see the letters IP. You should bargain to pay less than the face value of the card -- usually ¥40 for a ¥100 card from street vendors. Instructions for use are on the back, but you simply dial the access number given, choose English from the menu, and follow the instructions to dial in the number behind a scratch-off panel. Depending on where you call, ¥50 can give you an hour of talking. If using a public phone, you'll need an IC card to make the call. In emergencies, dial 108 to negotiate a collect call, but again, you'll need help from a Mandarin speaker.

For directory assistance dial 114. No English is spoken, and only local numbers are available. If you want numbers for other cities, dial the city code followed by 114 -- a long-distance call. You can text the name of the establishment you are looking for (in English) to a service called "Guanxi" at 010/669-588-2929, and for a small fee, the address will return in English. For an additional ¥1 you can get the address in Chinese, ready to show to your taxi driver.

For operator assistance: Just ask for help at your hotel.

Toll-free numbers: Numbers beginning with 800 within China are toll-free, but calling a 1-800 number in the States from China is a full-tariff international call, as is calling one in Hong Kong from mainland China, or vice versa.

Cellphones

All Europeans, most Australians, and many North Americans use GSM (Global System for Mobiles). But while everyone else can take a regular GSM phone to China, North Americans, who operate on a different frequency, need a more expensive tri-band model.

International roaming charges can be horrendously expensive. Buying a prepaid chip in China with a new number is far cheaper. You may need to call up your cellular operator to "unlock" your phone in order to use it with a local provider.

For Beijing, buying a phone is the best option. Last year's now unfashionable model can be bought, with a chip (quanqiutong) and ¥100 of prepaid airtime, for about ¥800; you pay less if a Chinese model is chosen. Europeans taking their GSM phones, and North Americans with tri-band phones, can buy chips for about ¥100. Recharge cards (chongzhi ka) are available at post offices, newspaper stands, and mobile-phone shops. Calling rates are low, although those receiving calls pay part of the cost.

Internet & Email

Despite highly publicized clampdowns on cybercafes, monitoring of traffic, and blocking of websites, China remains one of the easiest countries in the world in which to get online.

Without Your Own Computer -- In central Beijing, government clampdowns have significantly reduced the number of Internet cafes (wangba). Those still in operation tend to charge from ¥4 to ¥20 per hour. Keep your eyes open for the wangba characters.

Many media websites, and those with financial information or any data whatsoever on China which disagrees with the Party line, are blocked from mainland China, as are even some search engines and social networking sites.

With Your Own Computer -- Many cafes and hotels in Beijing offer wireless connectivity in public areas. Most hotels also offer free in-room Wi-Fi connections.

Mainland China uses the standard U.S.-style RJ11 telephone jack also used as the port for laptops worldwide. Cables with RJ11 jacks at both ends can be picked up for around ¥10 in Beijing department stores and electrical shops. Standard electrical voltage across China is 220v, 50Hz, which most laptops can handle, but North American users in particular should check.

Those with onboard Ethernet can take advantage of broadband services, which are sometimes free in major hotels. Ethernet cables are often provided, but it's best to bring your own.

Escorted & Package Tours

Academic Trips & Language Classes

Despite what everyone says, Chinese is not an impossible language -- 20% of this planet speaks it, for Pete's sake! You can pick up some survival phrases while also exploring the city at the China Culture Center, Room 101, Kent Center, Anjialou, Liangmaqiao Lu 29 (tel. 10/6432-9341). The CCC, as it is colloquially known about town, also hosts classes and lectures on Chinese culture, martial arts, history, and traditional Chinese medicine, and does day trips around town.

Local boutique travel service VariArts (tel. 010/8532-4808) organizes tailor-made special-interest trips. They can arrange everything from a stay on an organic farm in Beijing to a special rickshaw tour through the city's hutong with an expert from the Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center serving as your personal guide.

Escorted General-Interest Tours

Escorted tours are structured group tours with a group leader. The price usually includes everything from airfare to hotels, meals, tours, admission costs, and local transportation. Almost all include a visit to Beijing, but very few tackle Beijing alone, or in any depth. For that you'll need to ask the companies below to organize an independent tour for you (but you'd be better off just to jump on a plane and be completely at liberty once you arrive).

Again, due to the distorted nature of the Chinese tourism industry, escorted tours do not usually represent savings, but rather a significant increase in costs over what you can arrange for yourself. Foreign tour companies are for now required to work with state-owned ground handlers, although some book as much as they can directly or work discreetly with private operators they trust. But even as markets become more open, most arrangements will continue to be made with the official state operators, if only for convenience. Read the brochures skeptically (one man's "scenic splendor" is another's "heavily polluted"), and carefully read the advice in this section.

As with package tours, the arrangements within China itself are managed by a handful of local companies, whose cupidity often induces them to lead both you and your tour company astray. Various costs, which should be in the tour fee, can appear as extras; itineraries are altered to suit the pocket of the local operator; and there are all sorts of shenanigans to separate the hapless tourist from extra cash at every turn, usually at whatever point the tour staff appear to be most helpful. (The driver has bottles of water for sale on the bus each day? You're paying three times the shop price.)

Evaluating Tours -- When choosing a tour company for China, you must, of course, consider cost, what's included, the itinerary, the likely age and interests of other tour group members, physical ability required, and the payment and cancellation policies, as you would for any other destination. But you should also investigate:

Shopping Stops -- These are the bane of any tour in China, designed to line the pockets of tour guides, drivers, and sometimes the ground-handling company itself. A stop at the Great Wall may be limited to only an hour so as to allow an hour at a cloisonné factory. The better foreign tour operators design their own itineraries and have instituted strict contractual controls to keep these stops to a minimum, but they are often unable to do away with them altogether, and tour guides will introduce extra stops whenever they think they can get away with it. Other companies, particularly those companies that do not specialize in China, just take the package from the Chinese ground handler, put it together with flights, and pass it on uncritically. At shopping stops, you should never ask or accept your tour guide's advice on what is the "right price." You are shopping in the wrong place to start with, where prices will often be 10 to 15 times higher than they should be. Your driver gets a tip, and your guide gets 40% of sales. The "discount" card you are given marks you for yet higher initial prices and tells the seller to which guide commission is owed. So ask your tour company how many of these stops are included, and simply sit out those you cannot avoid.

Tipping -- There is no tipping in mainland China. If your tour company advises you to bring payments for guides and drivers, costs that should be included in your total tour cost are being passed on to you through the back door. Ask what the company's tipping policy is and add that sum to the tour price to make true comparisons. Some tour guides are making as much as 400 times what an ordinary factory worker or shop assistant makes, mostly through kickbacks from sights, restaurants, and shops, all at your expense, and from misguided tipping. Some tour operators say that if they cut out the shopping stops, then they have to find other ways to cover the tour guides' income or there'll be no tour guide. Shopping-free trips are nearly always accompanied by a higher price or a higher tip recommendation (which is the same thing). The guides are doing so well that now, in many cases, rather than receive a salary from the ground-handling company, they have to pay for the privilege of fleecing you. The best tour companies know how China works, make what arrangements they find unavoidable, and leave you out of it. A middle path is to put a small sum from each tour member into a central kitty and disburse tips as needed, but only for truly exceptional service and at a proper local scale which short-time visitors from developed nations are incapable of assessing. Foreign tour leaders can be tipped according to the customs of their country of origin, and most companies issue guidelines for this.

Guides -- Mainland guides rarely know what they are talking about, although they won't miss a beat while answering your questions. What they will have on the tip of their tongue is an impressive array of unverifiable statistics, amusing little stories of dubious authenticity, and a detailed knowledge of the official history of a place which may bear only the faintest resemblance to the truth. Their main concerns are to tell foreigners what they want to hear, and to impress them with the greatness of China. So you may be told that the Great Wall can be seen from outer space (silly), that China has 5,000 years of culture (what does this actually mean?), and that one million people worked on building the Forbidden City (it was only 100,000 on last year's trip). Guides are shortchanged by China's shoddy and politically distorted education system, and also tend to put the potential profit from the relationship first.

Ask your tour company if it will be sending a guide and/or tour manager from home to accompany the trip and to supplement local guides. This is worth paying more for, as this person's presence ensures a smoother trip and more authoritative information.

Tour Companies

Between them, the following tour companies (a tiny selection of what's available) serve just about all budgets and interests. The companies are from Australia, Canada, China, the United Kingdom, and the United States, but many have representatives around the globe. Plus you can often just buy the ground portion of the trip and fly in from wherever you like.

• Abercrombie and Kent (U.S.): Top-of-the-range small group tours, with the very best accommodations and transport. tel. 800/554-7016; fax 630/954-3324; www.abercrombiekent.com. tel. 0845/618-2200; www.abercrombiekent.co.uk. tel. 1300/851-800; www.abercrombiekent.com.au (Australia). tel. 0800/441-638 (New Zealand).
• Academic Travel Abroad (U.S.): Tours in China for the Smithsonian (educational, cultural) and National Geographic Expeditions (natural history, soft adventure). tel. 877/338-8687; fax 202/633-6088; www.smithsonianjourneys.org.; tel. 888/966-8687; www.nationalgeographicexpeditions.com.
• Adventure Center (U.S.): Small group tours aimed at those who are usually independent travelers; one tour includes the Eastern Qing Tombs and walking on several stretches of the Great Wall. tel. 800/228-8747 or 800/227-8747; www.adventurecenter.com.
• China Focus (U.S.): Larger groups at budget prices, but with additional costs to cover extras. tel. 800/868-7244 or 415/788-8660; fax 415/788-8665; www.chinafocustravel.com.
• Exploritas (U.S.): Educational tours for seniors. tel. 800/454-5768 or 877/426-8056; www.exploritas.org.
• Gecko's Adventures (Australia): Down-to-earth budget tours for small group tours of 20- to 40-year-olds, using smaller guesthouses, local restaurants, and public transport. tel. 03/8601-4444; fax 03/8601-4422; www.geckosadventures.com.
• Intrepid Travel (Australia): Slightly more adventurous tours with small groups, following itineraries that are a deft mix of popular destinations and the less-visited. One trip includes 4 days of trekking on the Great Wall. tel. 1300/364-512 (in Australia), 3/9473-2626 (outside Australia); fax 03/9419-4426; www.intrepidtravel.com.
• Laurus Travel (Canada): Small group tours from a Vancouver-based China-only specialist, run by a former CITS guide. tel. 877/507-1177 or 604/438-7718; fax 694/438-7715; www.laurustravel.com.
• Monkey Business (China): Beijing-based outfit specializing in organizing onward travel on the Trans-Siberian express. tel. 010/6591-6519; fax 010/6591-6517; www.monkeyshrine.com.
• Pacific Delight (U.S.): A large variety of mainstream trips for a wide range of group sizes, with endless permutations for different time scales and budgets. Watch for extra costs. tel. 800/221-7179; www.pacificdelighttours.com.
• Peregrine Adventures (Australia): Sister company of Gecko's Adventures , Peregrine offers small group trips with good quality centrally located accommodations; trips include visits to private houses and smaller restaurants frequented by local people and, possibly, walks and bike rides. tel. 03/8601-4444; fax 03/8601-4422; www.peregrineadventures.com. tel. 800/227-8747 (U.S.).
• R. Crusoe & Son (U.S.): Small group tours include extras such as a visit to areas of the Forbidden City usually closed to the public. tel. 800/585-8555; fax 312/980-8100; www.rcrusoe.com.
• Ritz Tours (U.S.): Groups range in size from 10 to 40 people, and ages range widely; parents often bring children. Ritz is the foremost U.S. tour operator to China in terms of volume. tel. 800/900-2446; www.ritztours.com.
• Steppes East (U.K.): Tours organized to very high standards. Its itineraries are merely suggestions that can be adapted to your specifications. tel. 01285/880980; fax 01285/885888; www.steppeseast.co.uk.
• VariArts (China): Beijing-based boutique tour company offering tailor-made tours. All tours incorporate sustainable travel practices. tel. 010/8532-4808; fax 010/8532-4809; www.variarts.com.
• WildChina (China): Founder Mei Zhang started this company for many reasons, one of them being that she wanted to explore China's lesser known paths and still have a good cup of coffee in the morning! Beijing-based Wild China offers highly specialized tours that focus on sustainable travel. tel. 888/902-8808; fax 010/6465-6602; www.wildchina.com.

For more information on escorted general-interest tours, including questions to ask before booking your trip, see www.frommers.com/planning.

Sustainable Travel & Ecotourism

Sadly, the environment remains a rather low priority in Beijing. The city suffers from incredible levels of pollution, has a staggering population of 17.4 million (though many people believe this to be much higher given the influx of unregistered migrant workers), and has a growing middle class eager to buy private cars and contribute to the CO2 emissions. As a visitor here, you will have to make a very conscious effort to travel green.

Taxis are plentiful and cheap, but this is the original city of bicycles! Beijing is a sprawling landscape, but it is flat as a pancake and larger boulevards -- Chang'an Jie, for example -- have excellent bicycle lanes. During rush hour, biking is often faster than taking a cab. Most hotels rent bicycles at affordable day rates. You'll also find entrepreneurial xiaomaibu, or convenience stalls/newspaper stands, renting bicycles. Several xiaomaibu beside popular subway stops (Jian Guo Men, exit A; Liangmaqiao, exit B, among others) rent reliable wheels for ¥2 per hour or ¥20 per day, plus a ¥200 deposit. Be sure to try the bike and test the lock first.

A great way to cut down on your own emissions is to fiddle with the temperature control in your hotel room. High-end chains often have the central-air units turned down to a chilly temperature (19°C/66°F?!) during the hot summer months. Ceiling fans are much greener options, or a more energy-efficient temperature between 21°C and 23°C (70°F-73°F).

Street bins with dual containers for recyclables and trash are starting to show up on Beijing's major streets. The underground recycling trade here is prolific, however, so there's no need to hang on to empty water bottles in an attempt to find the appropriate recycling bin -- just leave it on top of a trash can or (I know, it's hard) on the street and a bottle collector will pounce upon it soon enough.