I've taken a few trips to China these past few years and have some favorites and tricks to share. This post is a work in progress.

• Always get the business card of your hotel. The language is difficult and worst case you can just give your taxi driver the card to get you home.
• China is a place where their food is so much better than it is in the states. Almost all Chinese food in the states is Cantonese, but there are so many other styles — some of my favorites include Hunan, Szechuan, Shanxi, and Yunnan.
• The great Chinese internet firewall blocks YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and randomly other things. The Firefox plugin Cocoon is a nice way around it. So is Tor but it's a little slow. Be sure to download the list of bridges ahead of time.
• Bring an unlocked GSM phone. A China Mobile card will run you $15 to have a number for a year.
• Find places to go on MobileNative — you can browse in English and have your destination SMS'd to your phone in Chinese.

Beijing Recommendations

• Best dumplings ever: Bao Yuan in Chaoyang
• Fubar: speakeasy behind Stadium Dog
• Middle 8th: amazing Yunnan food