Hi there, I have been living in China for two and a half years now and I have only found the Chinese locals to be lovely and to be helpful. Of course there are some people who might steal, but they are not everywhere. Normal precautions are all that are required.

In Beijing all the shops and buildings are heated in winter so the main thing your parents will need are a very warm coat, hat, mittens, scarf and good shoes or boots. These can all be bought here if they don't have them - they are cheap in the markets.

At the moment it is about -10 at night time and about 3 degrees during the day time. It can feel colder in the wind.

I think there is an English speaking number for the police, but also if anyone ever needed them I am equally sure that any police person would get someone to translate if necessary.

All the young adults and younger can speak some English, but they are often too shy to try it - some are much more confident. Older people, as a rule, do not speak English but they are very kind.

There are areas of Beijing with more English speaking people, so the workers in those areas tend to speak English.

I'm sure they will have a great time - and I doubt they will see any trouble. I haven't.