The food sure is good!
Weirdy Flarour Beancurd by
Wigwam Jones, on Flickr
OK, just kidding; the food really is good (I didn't eat at this restaurant).
I did a week's work in Beijing quite some time ago. Things I remember...
The air was very polluted; my eyes burned the whole time I was in Beijing.
Everybody wants to be your friend as soon as they realize you're American.
Most of them are selling something.
If you get lured into a painter's 'studio', you won't escape until you buy something. Probably two somethings. And it's way overpriced.
You have to tell your credit card companies that you're going. They will assume your card is stolen and disable it if you don't tell them; fraud is rampant and they're looking out for you, believe it or not. And it's hard to reach them via the phone from Beijing.
The taxi drivers do not speak English. Have someone write down where you want to go in Chinese and give that to the driver; also have something written down with the address where you live so you can get back.
The taxi drivers will charge you more than is on the meter, especially when you are on the way to the airport to leave. If you argue with them, the police will come. They don't speak English either. You will pay or you will not leave China on time. Just FYI, get used to being ripped off by taxi drivers.
The food really is amazing.
Lots of Chinese girls want to live in America. Wear a wedding ring if you won't want a wife. And keep insisting that you are happily married.
See the tourist sites. They are amazing. Visit the houtongs if they are still there; they might be gone now. If they're not, they will be soon.
Take photos; you may never be that way again, and photos make great memories.
And have something to do during the five-hour layover in Narita in Japan on the way there. You can't leave because you're in the secure international part of the airport and there's only so much to do.