We went to China last June with ABD--and it was great! (Dusty and Daisy were the guides). Because of the earthquake, and because we also flew in early, we had a nice long stay in Bejing--pre-Olympics, so the place was abuzz! We found the air quality to be so-so (not as bad as we feared--we even brought masks), but reminded me of LA on a bad day. We used the subways a couple of times--English has been added, so it was pretty easy to get around--but the taxi cabs are very inexpensive. Just have your guides or hotel write where you want to go on a hotel card so there won't be any misunderstandings. If you are at the same hotel in Bejing (Penninsula), you are a short walk to the night market, to a subway station and to a very large and nice indoor shopping mall (very swank--and you walk down a large outdoor shopping mall to get there). Not a lot of peddlers on the street (at least, pre-Olympics)--but the shop-keepers are very persisitent; as are people wanting to take your photo if you have blonde hair--but they are nice about it. As for water--Disney gives you lots of bottled water, and we got extra from them to use to brush our teeth etc. Bottled water served in restaurants, too--and the guides will let you know of any food items to watch out for (there was, for example, a chicken scare while we were there, so we avoided it). I like traveling with Disney as it provides a comfort zone--still plenty of adventure, but reliable guides too! Have a great time! (Oh--and the guides do their best to locate western toilets--never pass one up!)