Good first impressions are not the strong suit of Beijing. It's a city of about 16 million people trying to balance the old with the new.

The city is moving from a bicycle/pedicab world to an automobile-centered society overnight. While Tokyo exhibits an urban bustle, Beijing is chaotic. Automobiles, buses, bicycles, pedicabs, and pedestrians all coexist on the streets in close proximity.

There is constant demolition everywhere, and occasionally corresponding construction. Sitting on the edge of the Gobi Desert, the city is dusty, dingy, and alarmingly polluted. People tell us to expect to get a chest cold here after a couple of days from the pollution; we believe them.

The people you see on the street are noticeably indifferent and inhospitable. They don't seem happy (no wonder, with 12 hour work days seven days a week).

And the city is much bigger than the maps indicate. We easily got in our 10,000 steps after arriving Tuesday afternoon, walking around the neighborhood surrounding the hotel.

On the way from Capital Airport, our driver told us that Beijing might not be as modern as other cities, such as Shanghai or Hong Kong, but Beijing is the cultural center of China. After spending Monday night in the Incheon Airport in Korea, we were bushed, so instead of taking in the culture, we called it an early night.