I've read that the pollution in Beijing is pretty bad, though I think due to the time of year I went I missed out on this and I got one perfect day followed by several dark-and-cloudy days. I don't really notice the weather in Guangzhou anymore - it seems to be perpetually hazy, and I'm never sure if this is just natural weather conditions or pollution.

You reminded me of something I left out - the level of expectoration in Beijing is astonishing! Everywhere I went, even in some restaurants, I'd constantly hear the delightful sound of someone clearing the depths of their throat and ejecting it. Maybe it's a cultural thing, or maybe the Beijingren just smoke a lot of really bad cigarettes!

I used to live in Zhaoqing (a couple of hours from Guangzhou) and I now live in Langfang (a couple of hours from Beijing).

I much prefer Beijing to Guangzhou for the reason you mention - Guangzhou seems barren in comparison. Also, although the pollution is pretty bad in Beijing, it's a step up from Guangzhou! Interestingly, I didn't notice the difference in prosperity, but I guess its been 3 or 4 years since I've been to Guangzhou and I've forgotten the little details. But you're spot on about the hawkers - I detest them!

Beijing is changing at a furious pace - there are buildings coming down and buildings going up all over the place. One side affect of the rate of change is that a lot of taxi drivers can't find their way around the city - it's not just the tourists! It will be very interesting to see what happens with the Olympics...

Anyway, I really enjoyed this post - Thanks!