We decided to go on a guided 8-day tour with a local tour agency to Beijing that cost only SGD800 plus each including all expenses on accommodation, food, and entry to monuments. Definitely very cheap but we have to visit 8 mandatory shops where we were persuaded to purchase local produce including teas, Chinese medicines and so forth. The high point of the trip was The Great Wall, but we were just given an hour plus to climb and return. It was cold, very cold so we did not stay long too. The low point of the trip was we were actually conned to buy cheap jades that are over priced. All in all, not too bad. I got to sketch along the way whenever there was time to do so. Anyway it was also too cold to sketch. But I managed to buy 3 Hero fountain pens that I eagerly tested when I returned to the hotel room.