Technically not honeymoon related but i'd still appreciate advice.

ElleB87

Can any give me information or advice on living in Beijing, China?

DH and I might have an opportunity there and I would like some info from people who have been, even just on vacation.

What attractions would you recommend?
How friendly are the locals?
How difficult is it to get around using public tranpo?
Did you find that most people spoke English?

Has anyone gone through the process of learning Mandarin or Cantonese?

**I've also posted this on the International Nesties and the Travel boards over on TN but things are pretty dead over there since everyone fled to proboards

dazyabbey

You  may get a few answers on here but I would recommend going over the Trip Advisor forum for Beijing. I know a lot of the boards on Trip Advisor have local Ex-Pats that help others get around and by taking a quick look at the board on there you can see there are lots of people that speak English and give great advice. You would have more people with a specific knowledge of Beijing as well.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g294212-i2147-Beijing.html

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

Also, check the International Nesties board over on the Nest. I'm not sure if anyone lives in Beijing, but I'm sure there are people who live in China and/or have been through Beijing.

crystalsky43

I'm not sure how helpful this will be, but I've travelled to Beijing twice before, and stayed there about a month each time.
Obviously, the Great Wall is a huge attraction. Tiananmen Square is where you can see Mao's body (a bit creepy), and Wangfujing is a famous shopping street. There's alot of other fun places but I'm blanking right now.

In terms of people speaking English, I think it depends where you are. More touristy places have people who know at least some broken English. I think you should at least learn some common phrases in Chinese before going.

I don't remember if the public transportation system has English signs...but it's pretty efficient!

Btw, everyone speaks Mandarin in Beijing. People only speak Cantonese in southern China and Hong Kong.

Hope this helps!

hz80408

Agreed with pp. Some of the ladies on GCBN have lived in China. I'd head over there to ask.