Thursday 6 June On the streets of China, the only people at risk of bodily harm are those not in the vehicle with you. Pedestrians casually walk out into eight lanes of traffic and stoplights aren't even a suggestion -- they're just decoration. Cyclists are everywhere, as well as crowded "parking lots".

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) guys "directing traffic" must have done something really heinous to get the one job where nobody watches you, nobody listens to you, and you have a better than 70% chance of being killed during working hours.

A brief but harrowing bus ride later, we reached Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.

By the way, an excellent PDF map of Beijing can be found at http://www.mapmatrix.com/asia/02101.pdf