I have indeed lived there! I was there for about 3 months in 2004, volunteering with a Canadian NGO and its Chinese partner on a community development exchange thingy with a big group. This year I went back to China for a second time to study some more Mandarin (it’s still rusty but I can have a pretty ok conversation on the bus, about basic politics maybe, definitely not about metaphysics or anything), to a city in Sichuan province called Chengdu, and got a chance to see Beijing again on my way back. It’s already changed a lot in 3 years! My connection is through those experiences and a little bit of my blood coming from southern China. I’m pumped for you! It’s a bold adventure you guys are embarking on. There are a lot of expats teaching English in Beijing, so I try to give a heads-up to anyone I can headed over there that there’s more to see than bars for foreigners and English corners.

The Temple of Heaven… is one of the most beautiful, peaceful places I’ve ever been to. I can’t explain why, exactly, I can just feel life moving forward, moving on, when I go there. I didn’t get a chance to go back this year and one of the main temples in the park was under renovation for the Olympics anyway, but it should all be open again by next year. I’ve got a longer entry on my experiences there on 43places, actually – http://www.43places.com/entries/view/594495

Drop me a line if you have any more questions!