I must be a bit pickier than TP. I would only do Shanghai, Guangzhou/Shenzhen, Xiamen, Sanya, or Kunming. 50% of expats like Beijing. I am not one of them.

You want to do 1 day trips. Layovers tend to be on the "horrific" side of bad. Shenzhen Airlines being the only exception. I new a couple of their pilots and they stayed at nice hotels.

Lots of Canadians and Americans in China. Probably more than any other group.

Now that I think about it, it is the Canadians that seem to like Beijing. I guess they feel like home when they are sitting around their Hot Pot in the middle of winter when it is -20 outside. And in China it is also -20 inside. You get to wear your winter jacket for dinner. LOL.

But actually, I am not joking.

Believe it or not, I used to carry a ceramic heater in my layover bag. There were a couple of hotels we stayed at with no heat.