China

Let's see... for coins, they're usually on the top level of the massive "Book cities." Just ask around and you can't miss them. Even though they're kinda stuffed, there's always good stuff. And don't be shy to talk down the price. These people are in the business and so are you. These places will have the real ones. But, always ask for a weight, and possibly a certification if it's really rare. I know in Xi'an there's at least 2 big ones in the center and on the edge of town.

...and for the fake ones just go to any random street stall. I personally wouldn't buy them because (of course) they're fake and hard to price (a person wanted 30RMB last time for a fake morgan!)

For the food, there's always these streets lined with people.
In Xi'an, there's just stalls everywhere. Pick one that's popular and not that dirty and go get some finger foods there.
In Shanghai... I don't know... never been there.
In Beijing, there's this street full of licensed stalls. Just ask around for the scorpion and starfish place and the guides will tell you. There's also a street called Wangfujing where you can find kabobs of almost everything, but mostly lamb.
In Guilin, there's some places... but I don't remember.
And ahhh... Yangshou, the ultra-tourist place. The entire street is lined with restaurants. Just watch your pockets. They say that the best restaurants are not that easily seen, and that's true. For the city's most famous dish, Beer Fish, you have to ask around and find "Fat Sister's." There's two huge window sized pics of a fat lady with holding a fish. There's going to be a lot of imitations so do take care to pick the right one!

And on that topic, there's no real drinking age in China. They say it's 5, but no one cares. I bought alcohol for my gramps when I was 4 or 5 or something like that at the store across the street.

are you going to buy with American dollars? Why not try to trade instead of doing the exchange rate?

G'day,
fake coins can be had for $1 each. If you pay more than that then you're being foolish.

Food in Beijing: non-Beijing persons will point out that Beijing does not have a recognized cuisine. But they still have some very nice food.
If you feel like a big walk, where you'll see heaps:

Tian'an-men Square, southern end, there is a tea house on top of the remaining fragment of the old wall, called Qi'an-men. Great views.

Chang'an Avenue: go east from Tian'an-men. Can't think of the name, but one of the side streets (opposite the Lufthansa building, I think) has the world's biggest "Golden Arches". It also has long queues.
Before you get to the World Trade Hotel, there is an alley running to the north. It is called "Silk Street": really good shopping here. At the far end, you are in the Old Diplomatic Quarter. You can see the rear entrance of the U.S. embassy. Very near here is Ritan Park. And across the road from the park is the Ritan Restaurant, which is rightly famous for its Beijing duck and Eight-treasure Tea (ba bao cha). I have an old business card which gives the 'phone number as 6500 5883.

If you get to the Summer Palace, don't forget to see the Paddle-steamer.

I always enjoy the Forbidden City, and the Great Wall. There is a park in the south of the city, where the Imperial Astronomer determined that the Centre of the Universe is located: great photo'-opportunity.

Peter in Oz

Don't buy the toys there. Probably full of the Lead they found in the ones they sent here. If you find those fake Silver Dollars, see if you can buy lots of them and resell them here to pay for your trip.
As to their coinage, you could find almost all of them right here in the average flea market.
Bring back a bottle of their booze for the members here.

The fakes there are usually made of steel. The "imitations" are a bit silver to make it ring, but who knows...

Watch out for the customs! They will ding you if you bring too many fake items!

And China is relatively safe, if
1. You're at least 5'8"
2. A pretty big dude
and... always carry your money, passports, documents in your shirt pocket. The robbers WILL rip your backpack open (seeing you're a foreigner) and take everything without you knowing.

And the cabs are pretty safe, too. There's no really dangerous events with cabs. Just make sure they charge you the right amount (start the ticker thingy)... and make sure they follow a straight path...

... which brings me to my next point: CHECK YOUR MONEY! There's just soooo many counterfeits that you have to check every one. If you don't know what to check, I can give you a run down on the security features of Chinese notes.

Sounds fun! Go enjoy yourself and definitely go to the Forbidden Palace!

I'm not muslim. Plus am not very religious in general.
I'm stocking up on pork dumplings.
Yeah, how would you check for counterfeit currency, I don't want to end up giving a large note for something small and getting back counterfeit money.
Yeah Peter, we will be visiting the terracotta warriors.
I've been thinking, wouldn't it be pretty cool having one of them statues in your house. I doubt I'll be allowed to buy one for my room though.

I traveled to Italy in February, so I know what the pickpocketing scene is like. I doubt China can be worse.
Luckily I didn't loose anything there.

Plus I'll be going to Singapore after China. I've been there twice before, but any coin related facts I'd like to know?

TheKid!

I've heard that some of them are absolute #%!@ quality, that by the time you get back home its broken.
Its a good gift.
8 for $1.00
Real good.
When you went to China, were there many authentic and licensed antique stores.

TheKid!