Beijing: What to See & Do: Tips

The city’s five-star hotels have become adept at finding expert local guides who can customize itineraries and arrange off-hours access—at a price, naturally. Through their guanxi (contacts), many hoteliers have managed to organize corporate and private functions at the Great Hall of the People, the Forbidden City, and the Great Wall. A guide can certainly help smooth the way around Beijing, a city where English is not spoken much, people in the street are not especially helpful, and box-office flunkies practice service with a snarl, not a smile.

For a guide, see Indagare Intelligence