Here are some general travel tips which could be of help when traveling around Beijing .

Beijing is a very safe city. However, tourists are often preyed upon by cheats and touts. Be especially cautious in the inner city, around Tiananmen Square , and on the tourist-crowded routes to the Great Wall.

Do not follow any "art students". At best you end up in a shabby "art store" and get pressured to buy art.

For tours to the Great Wall, be wary: the driver might just stop and set you off before your destination. Only pay afterwards if you are absolutely sure you are at the destination. Do not go for organized tours to the Great Wall in the 100-150 Yuan range that are advertised by people handing out flyers around the Forbidden City . Conveniently you are picked up from your hotel (so they know where to get back at you, in case you will not pay), you end up on a shopping tour through many Chinese art, Chinese medicine, etc. shops and afterwards you have to pay upfront to get back to the city. Of course, there are exceptions, and people showing letters of recommendation from their previous travels and pictures are usually ok.

Be wary of fake money. You may observe Chinese people inspecting their money carefully, and with a reason: there are a lot of counterfeit bills in circulation. The most common are 100's and 50's. A few tips for identifying counterfeit bills:

Be very careful if someone wants to give back the largest currency bill (50 and 100 Yuan) by the excuse of "no change". In an attempt to pass you a counterfeit bill they may tell you that they have lowered the price in your benefit. Or, they may ask you to contribute an additional sum in order to pass you the 100 Yuan.

If they give you back all the change money plus the coins on top (though coins are rare in Beijing ) take your time to check each bill carefully.

To check any 50 and 100 Yuan bill you get, do this: most importantly, check the paper. If its torn, thin or very slippery, ask for a different bill. Next, check the watermark, it should blur out softly. If there are hard visible corners in the watermark, reject the bill. Last, check the green "100" imprint on the lower left corner. It should be clearly painted on the bill so you can both feel and see a relief. If its missing or not feel able, reject the bill also. Rejecting bills is not considered impolite. If the coloring of a banknote is faded, it does not necessarily mean it is fake.