Asia - Beijing in January 2005?

A friend and I are visiting Beijing to see the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, etc. We realize it will be a little cold (1°C), but will there be much snow on the ground this time of year? Just trying to get a feel for weather conditions. Thanks!

Very unlilely - summer is the wet season in Beijing. Accoring to World Weather ( http://www.worldweather.org/001/c00237.htm ) the average preciptation for the whole month of January is only 3mm and the mean number of days with preciptation is 2.

But this being winter you can expect heavy pollution from all the coal-fired power stations churning out enough electricity to keep people warm.

And perhaps also a dust storm due to the fact that the desert is very rapidly approaching the city.