Most people there don't speak English, and signs are in characters, not pinyin (the romanization alphabet), so it's hard to navigate. We got used to it, and my kids speak Chinese from the Utah immersion schools.

If you were on your own, you could still do it with good planning. You'd need a guide for the Great Wall, I think ... it can be a bit tricky navigating the bus/taxis there. The rest of the sites are mostly just ride the subway there, buy a ticket, walk around (and listen to a tour in English).

But Chinese guides are usually pretty affordable and make things just easier. If you can afford that, that's a nice way to go. You can also get more done as they'll take the hassle out of transportation.

Here's my tip ... Do the Mutianyu part of the great wall because then you can ride a chair lift up to the top and an Alpine slide down after wards. That was my kids' favorite part. Silly kids ... a majestic 7th Wonder of the World, and they liked the slide. Funny.

Outside of the Great Wall, which was super cool, our favorite city in China is easily Xi'an. It has more dynastic history than Beijing, it has a city wall that you can bike around, excellent food in the Muslim Quarter, great shopping, and it's cheaper than Beijing. They have a cool pageant about the Tang Dynasty at the historical sites.