Is there a better time of the year to be in Beijing than October? I mean, besides the crushing tourist crowds at the beginning of the month, the imminent death of your internet connection to the outside world, and an onslaught of chaotic security measures designed to “maintain public order” during the upcoming Party Congress, and the fact that winter is, in fact, coming, bringing with it November’s choking smog and the cold, dry Siberian Express winds which make riding a bike between December and March feel like you’re fellating a sandblaster filled with liquid nitrogen?