I've visited Beijing twice now (since it's where the direct flight from Toronto stops). The second visit in 2007 showed a city in turmoil getting ready for the 2008 games. Taxi drivers were learning English (and very eager to practice it) and the city was getting to be very clean. Notice the picture of the boy in Tian'an men square peeing into a bottle. This was different from my 2004 visit. The whole city seemed under construction. But it was all good. Here I perfected my bargaining techniques, consistently outbargaining Tracy (my Chinese gf who used to live in Beijing) with the vendors. I love this city for it's class, culture and character. A great place to visit.