Kevin Gu · Books
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Beijing, Day Zero

A First-Timer's Guide to the Walls You'll Actually Hit

By Kevin Gu

A first-timer's guide to Beijing, built around the walls visitors actually hit: the paperwork at the border, a city that runs on phone payments, apps you can't reach from home, sights that must be booked a week ahead, subway exits, and menus.

Each chapter explains what stands in the way and how to get past it, then tells the story behind the sights, with the facts checked for travel in 2026 and 2027.

This edition is written for readers from the United States and Canada, with their entry rules, embassy contacts and customs allowances.

Coming soon to ebook stores

Where to buy

The book is the same in both places. Buying direct also gets you the printable extras and next year's update.

Direct from the author

$19.99

  • EPUB and PDF, no DRM: read it on Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, a phone or a laptop
  • Printable pre-trip checklist (PDF)
  • Printable taxi cards with addresses in Chinese to show your driver (PDF)
  • Next year's updated edition, free to download
Coming soon to ebook stores

Kindle edition on Amazon

$12.99

  • The full book, delivered to your Kindle library
  • Syncs across Kindle devices and apps

The printable checklist and taxi cards come only with the direct edition.

Coming soon to ebook stores

Contents

I — Before the Wheels Touch Down

  1. Getting There for Less: Flights, Which Beijing Airport, and the Free Stopover
  2. The Paperwork Wall: Visa-Free, Transit, and What Immigration Actually Asks
  3. The Cashless Wall: Three Ways to Pay, and Where Each One Stops Working
  4. The Connectivity Wall: eSIM, VPN, Maps, and the Apps You Need Installed Before Boarding

II — The First 48 Hours

  1. The Booking Wall: Why Every Big Sight Now Needs Your Passport a Week Ahead
  2. The Transit Wall: Subway Lines as Your Mental Map, Plus Taxis, Bikes, and the Bus You'll Never Take
  3. Choosing a Bed by Subway Line, Not by Neighborhood Name

III — The Sights: The Story First, Then the Strategy

  1. The Imperial Axis in Half-Days: What to Skip Inside the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, and Summer Palace
  2. The Great Wall Decision Tree: Which Section, Which Season, Which Fallback When the Air Is Bad
  3. Hutong Life Without the Rickshaw: Where the Alleys Are Still Lived In
  4. Temples by Belief, Not by Fame: Lama, Confucian, Taoist, Muslim, Catholic in One City
  5. Museums as Answers: One Room for Each Question a First-Timer Asks

IV — Eating Without a Translator

  1. The Menu Wall: Scan-to-Order, Spice Levels, Offal, and How to Say 'No Cilantro'
  2. Beyond the Duck: Five Regional Cuisines in Five Meals, Each With a Real Address
  3. Tea, Coffee, Craft Beer: Where to Sit Down When You're Done Walking

V — The Chapters No One Else Wrote

  1. Beijing After Dark: Opera, Acrobatics, Crosstalk, Live Music and the City Lit Up
  2. Sandstorms, 40°C and Golden Week: Planning Around Beijing's Weather and Crowds
  3. Beijing in Winter: Ice, Snow, Blue Skies, and the Emptiest Forbidden City You'll Ever See
  4. High-Speed Rail Day Trips: Tianjin, Chengde, Shanhaiguan Instead of Another Bus Tour
  5. Universal Beijing Resort: Tickets, Express, Heights and the Day Plan
  6. Beijing With Kids, With Parents, With Wheels: Sight-by-Sight Accessibility
  7. The Other Beijing: Sanlitun, Guomao, Wangjing, Shunyi — Where the City Actually Lives Now

VI — Leaving Well

  1. Shopping That Isn't a Trap: Markets, Tea, Silk, and the Fake-Goods Question
  2. Sample Routes by Subway Line: 3, 4, and 6 Days Without Backtracking

Appendices

  1. Phrasebook by Situation, Not by Grammar
  2. Beijing in Brief: History, Dynasties and Building Words
  3. Practical A-Z
  4. Place Names in Characters and Pinyin