Hmm... I was slowed down by some intestinal issues on my last visit to ShenZhen (erp!). After a review of this thread, I would say that I was not careful enough about fountain drinks with ice and salads.

Only my minders know where the fountain Cola drinks came from.

The Salads were at an Expat kind of bar (Coco Park Bar Street in Shenzhen). I am not much of a salad kind of guy, however after a week of travel, a fresh salad starts looking mighty inviting.

EthernetWeasel (Erp!)

I'm not visualizing how this really solves the issue, as any germs on the meat are now on the top of the chopsticks, which one is likely to touch and then move further down the chopsticks as one eats.

But perhaps I adjust my chopsticks more than the average person.

Probably so. My wife is Chinese and I learned this trick from her. I pick up the meat with back ends, but hold the chopsticks in the middle. I never wind up touching the back ends (or the front tips, for that matter).

I love to try some street vendors, especially the breakfast sandwich "Dan bing", but I always make sure I have them the eggs fresh in front of me.

What about even the vegetables that come with Peking Duck. Are they washed in tap water in even the best restaurants? Do most folks avoid all unpeeled raw veggies even when they are components of dishes?

Yes, assume all vegetables are washed in tap water. No restaurant, best or otherwise, is going to bother to wash with bottled or boiled water. Normally I avoid all unpeeled raw veggies, yes indeed--at least at about 95% of all establishments I visit and that includes 5*'s. There are a very few exceptions where I'll be so bold as to eat a salad or uncooked veggies outside my own home where I self-prepare under extreme sanitation procedures. I will, however, during Peking Duck dinners, use the lengthwise-sliced raw scallions, gambling that the amount of bacteria- (or other organism-) laden skin exposed per serving is very small. So far so good. If you are dining with people that won't think you're weird, you can do the old pour-a-cup trick with boiling water or tea, then dunk the suspect veggie (like a scallion bundle) in for a few seconds before assembling your mouthful to eat. I do a version of this (in the kitchen, not at the table) for my own veggies that need to be eaten raw and can't be peeled (scallions, celery, baby carrots, broccoli, etc.) I admit to also doing this in the USA when I prepare raw veggies.

I differ from jiejie here and feel that so long as it's at a semi decent restaurant, it's ok. From the street it's different. I always ate fruit off the street but anything with an edible skin I washed with soap twice. Then again that was with Chinese tap water.

But I also had local friends who peeled skin off things like apples and peaches. YMMV.

Is this the general consensus? Fountain drinks and ice from western restaurants (including fast food) are ok?

I don't set foot in fast-food restaurants, either in the U.S. or anywhere else, so I can't say.

As for fountain drinks, you'll find Coke (and, quite often, Diet Coke) in cans just about everywhere in China. I happen to like watermelon juice, which is usually whipped with ice. Never had any problems at all. Similarly, never any problems with fresh scallions when eating Peking Duck, though I usually have that only in Beijing. I don't eat unpeeled fruits or vegetables unless they're cooked. One of my favorite winter street foods in Beijing is roasted yams. There's no opportunity to wash them (which kind of destroy the point of eating them, i.e. getting all that hot, yammy goodness) and, again, I've never had any problems.

Yes. Ice is not widely available, but it is, then it's generally safe.

Are ice machines available in western hotels like sheraton and hilton? We've traditionally loaded up there since our son has autism and loves his ice in his drink. If not, will hotels make such accommodations?

You can't plan on availability of any North American motel-style self-service machines. But the staff should be able to bring you up a complementary bucket of ice from the kitchen, which should be safe to drink. The perfectly made little cubes or cylinders are usually fine as they are made in a machine using separate potable water supply, not tap water. Feel free to trouble them once or twice a day if you need it--one of the nice things about Asia is lots of staff around to do stuff for you. :-)

Usefull ice terms

Ice-bing
Ice cube/s-bing kuai
Ice water- bing shui
Add ice- jia bing

Is there any need to brush your teeth with boiled/bottled water?

I wasnt planning on it ...

I have always done so. In Beijing I'll rinse mouth and toothbrush out with tap water then again with bottled. Maybe Shanghai also. Everywhere else, bottled for all rinsing operations.