There are five locations in Beijing are best for flying kites. Can't wait any longer? Go pick one to your liking quickly! There are couple of things you need to pay attention when choosing a kite - 1. choose pattern that you like; 2. strength of bamboo strips on each side of two wings must be same, or it will not be able to balance itself in sky.

The environment for flying kites is very important. You should always go to a spacious place. Roughly count a bit, Beijing has quite a few places that are ideal for flying kites.

1. Tiananmen Square - Kites flying in sky of The Tiananmen Square has become most attractive scenery on Chang'an Street, nowhere else is more ideal than here in terms of space. A major drawback is that freedom of flying a kite can be somewhat limited due to surrounding crowds (mostly tourists).
2. Chaoyang Park - The north side of green area in park is best place to fly a kite. No trees around, no buildings, more importantly, it is permitted to fly kites on grass areas. But be careful not to trip yourself when running.
3. Surrounding areas of Panda Rotary Island - It is spacious, fewer vehicles and people, does not have any obstacles, with a bit of history of flying kites. Expert kite lovers normally like to get together here.
4. Chinese Century World - Here most advantage is there are very few trees, kite may freely fly around in much wider range. But Century World's artificial lawn has limited load-bearing capacity, lawn is well maintained and protected, growing of grass may be affected if too many people keep stepping on it.
5. Shijingshan Amusement Park - The open area in front of park is best place for family of three or lovers to fly kites. The problems are park is next to street, there are trees around, therefore kites can not be released too high. Other drawbacks are there are stairs in park, central park has an eruptive fountain, you'd better be careful when running on slippery ground.

Other things that should be observed are general cleanliness of restaurant or food preparation area. A restaurant with no electricity, meat covered in flies hanging on hooks and perhaps a few stray animals wandering around is hardly likely to be a good risk!

There are also risks that can be avoided much more easily. These include casual sexual contact, intravenous drug use and other skin piercing activities such as tattooing and ear-piercing.

It is also important that you mention to your doctor that you have been travelling overseas to developed countries if you develop any symptoms such as nausea, lethargy, fever or jaundice after your return. These can often be categorised as a flu or common virus, when in fact they may be symptoms of a hepatitis infection. With full travel details, doctor will be more able to make a correct diagnosis and suggest necessary further testing.

With almost all health issues, key to disease free overseas travel is common sense. If you are going to be visiting a developing area, take time to ensure you receive necessary vaccinations in plenty of time for your trip. After all, that small amount of forethought may prevent a great deal of trouble later on. Copyright Felicity Walker 2005