Hi everyone,

I'm considering taking a trip to Beijing this summer to see the Great Wall. I'm wondering how safe it is for a young male to travel around the Beijing area. Also, how difficult will it be for me to get in and out of customs? And finally how hard is it communicate with the Chinese people? Thank-you in advance for your reply!

It is quite safe to travel in China, especially for foreigners in touristy areas such as Beijing. You do not provide many details, but customs should not be an issue as long as you aren't bringing in huge amounts of commercial or subversive materials. If you are of Chinese descent, occasionally immigration can be a bit sticky, but in general, if you are a westerner, there are no big problems.

To answer your last question, remember that just your very presence as a tourist in China signifies wealth, and as such, you will have no trouble communicating with most of the people you are likely to come in contact with... as they are motivated to make you feel comfortable so as to have you patronize them. The only real problem I have ever had in Beijing was with taxi drivers trying various scams, such as claiming the engine died in the middle of nowhere (happened once) and demanding payment, but that sort of occurance is becoming rare.

My only comment on the Great Wall is that unless you plan on hiking a significant distance from the main tourist viewing area, you are unlikely to see a single authentic brick or stone. Those sections have been rebuilt several times in the past 45 years or so, and are about as authentic as Disneyland. However, as I understand it, at least those reconstructed portions lie within 10-20 miles or so of the location of the original wall, so at least you get a flavor for the setting.

Beijing is quite safe. I spent about 14 days in China last year for vacation (most of the time in Beijing.) If you'd like a copy of my trip report please email me.

I found it almost impossible to make myself understood in Chinese. (It sounded right to my ears but generally resulted in blank stares or polite giggles from the person I tried speaking to.) Fortunatly, we almost alway stumbled on someone who spoke English. In the more rural areas were were dependent on our phrase book that contained written chinese in addition to English and pronunciation.

We hiked between two villages on the Great Wall (Jingshaling and Simatai - sp?) and it was fantastic.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by premierstudent:

I'm considering taking a trip to Beijing this summer to see the Great Wall. </font>

For the Great Wall, I recommend either Simatai or Huanghua (yellow flower). The latter is one of the most challenging (and dangerous) hikes I've ever undertaken, but well worth it. There are scheduled busses to both places (not worth the effort IMO), or you can rent a cab or a minibus (about $30US for the cab or $100 for the minibus). I'll be in PEK about 50% of the time for the next several months so let me know if you need any assistance.

Totally agree with UAL traveler...
Being Chinese and holding a US Passport is no fun going through any immigration checkpoints in China, and god forbid you don't speak Mandarin...


[This message has been edited by bobes (edited 08-13-2002).]

I recommend you never pose this question in any youth hostel or ever suggest that you are in any way courageous for travelling alone to Beijing at your age. I myself was backpacking alone at the age of 17, and I was hardly the oldest person I know to do so. I'm not saying this to brag, just to advise you that there are people for whom your question is laughable on at least three grounds:

1. that a male of college (and correspondingly, military) age is concerned about "safety" at all

2. that you're concerned to travel to a metropolis

3. that you're concerned about China, a country that has been civilized for about four thousand years