I am taking our 7 year old to Beijing after visiting relatives in Hong Kong.

Buy an transportation in Beijing, because it is easy to take subway all over the city. They has English speaking report in the train. It is cheanper to use the card to take city bus too. Bring paper, for most of the publish toilets do not prepare paper. Bargin is possible in most of the stores, except big malls. Many restaurants may have bilingual menue, but it is still a problem to order dishes. Some better and bigger restaurants' menu have pictures, so that will be a good solution. Just feel free to ask the waiter what are the ingredients in the dish. They will be patient. If you visit in spring, be cautious about windstorm with sands.