Climb the Great Wall, wander the grounds of the Forbidden City, partake in Peking duck and watch the marching guards in Tian'anmen Square these are some of the things I have done in Beijing that allow me to tell others I have seen it all after more than two years in the capital.

Well, except maybe for the giant pandas at the Beijing Zoo.

My fellow Singaporean colleague tells me the bears are the best attraction there, a view that is endorsed by the visitors from home and abroad that I hear swarm the site on any holiday.