Originally Posted by
William S
Hong Kong may also be easier for the average tourist as they probably speak better English there than anywhere in China...
That being say I am looking forward to my trip to Beijing so I am throwing myself into unknown territory for me. I just hope I avoid any food poisoning, that is the only thing which will ruin my holiday. I have read up a little bit about what to do and not do so hopefully I'll avoid it. I am not parnaoid or something hehe and I realize that I will get an upset stomach in a way or another.
You'll have a fine time -- Beijing is not at all difficult for the foreigner. As part of the preparation for the Olympics, the government put a lot of effort and money into making Beijing easier for foreign tourists, including things like street signs that are in Chinese and English, educating cab drivers (though Beijing taxis are a whole different subject), etc.
Though you're right about the prevalence of English in Hong Kong, you'll find a surprising number of Beijingers have a little bit of English -- English is a mandatory subject starting in elementary school in China (a notable exception is taxi drivers who, I think, are selected based on their inability to read any language, including Chinese). You'll definitely find English speakers (not fluent, but good enough) in the ticket booths at the various tourist attractions. Some of these locations, e.g. Mao's tomb in Tiananmen, have ticket windows specifically for non-Chinese speakers.
As for food, here's a few simple tips:
1. Don't eat unpeeled raw fruit or vegetables anywhere. Peeled fruit and cooked vegetables in restaurants is fine.
2. Don't eat food from street vendors (the vast majority of it is fine but if you want to be absolutely safe, simply avoid it).
3. When out of your hotel, drink bottled water, only. The water in your hotel should be fine BUT, as with travel to any foreign destination, the mineral content and pH of the water may be different than what you're used to and that alone is enough to cause stomach upset for those who are sensitive to those changes). When in doubt, just order tea.
4. Just in case, carry kaopectate or something similar. There are very effective Chinese medicines for gastric distress available in any pharmacy, but I don't know their names in English (my wife is my live-with translator
).
5. Don't let fear of food poisoning dissuade you from trying the incredible variety of fantastic Chinese cuisines available in Beijing. I've been going to China regularly since 1994 and have only gotten food poisoning once, and that was at a tiny, off-the-beaten path, locals restaurant outside Guilin, and I think that may have been intentional (my wife had a minor altercation with the serving staff).