There is no such thing as "right of way" in Beijing. Cars and bikes routinely drive right through crosswalks packed with pedestrians.
Traffic lanes are only a mild suggestion. I've mostly been in the back seat of taxis but last night was in the front. The driver wandered freely from lane to lane including encroaching into the oncoming traffic lane.
Less pollution than I had been led to expect. The weather has been perfect. A couple of cloudy days but mostly sunny and beautiful blue skies. One day had something like a temperature inversion and the air looked a bit ... thick.
Construction every freaking where! They're in the run up to the 2008 Olympics. So there are major projects, building new venues. And there are alos signs of sprucing up everywhere we've been. Piles of bricks and tiles and mounds of dirt, lots of them.
Enormous. Everything is big and spread out. From the 12-lane street the hotel is on to Tiananmen Square to the spread of the place. Today I walked up a hill in a park just north of the Forbidden City. City as far as the eye can see in all direction.
Lots of people trying to scam the foreigners but also some that are just friendly and curious. Today while walking to the Forbidden city, two 20-something kids walking the same way struck up a conversation with me. I was wary, expecting them to want to sell me something. But we walked and chatted for a few minutes, then they said "good bye, have a nice stay" and headed down into the subway. I also had I think three "art students" want me to come see their school's exhibition and a dozen folks selling books and maps and flags hit me up during the afternoon. But that one encounter was ... pleasant.
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