Ah, the listicle — a lazy writer’s last resort, clickbait for Buzzfeed. But it can be an effective vehicle for people learning a language, like the students who attended my writing workshops today at Beijing Institute of Technology. After all, no need for elegant transitions or dynamic character development. Just brainstorm, focus and fire when ready, Xiansheng Gridley.

I gave two presentations at BIT:

¶ “Websites for Publishing Your News and Views”

¶ “Direct and Concise: How to Write Briefly” (advice I’ll probably ignore as I blow out this draft)

In the first session, I guided students through a tour of 10 citizen-journalism sites. As I lost my voice, I noticed that a disturbing number of these sites had “Voice” in their name: Yahoo! Voices, All Voices, Global Voices, International Student Voice Magazine. We also discussed Ground Report, The-Latest, Wikinews, CNN iReport (for photos and videos) and UPI Next (UPI’s site to mentor college journalists.) And I highlighted Medium as the shiny new toy, a status validated by this week’s story in The New York Times.

I explained to the students that for the most part, people in China can access these sites without having to “jump the wall” — i.e., use a VPN, Go Agent, Freegate or other tool to circumvent censors.

There were a few exceptions: The government has blocked Global Voices Online, which should be a feather in the cap of the nonprofit, free-speech platform. Medium is in a category all its own: You can access Medium and read the content without any obstacles. But to log in to Medium for the first time, you must allow it to access your Twitter account. And since Twitter is blocked, you must activate your VPN for that initial handshake. Afterward, Medium remembers who you are and ushers you in without a VPN, says the guy who spent way too much time figuring this out.

Let me digress for a sec to address censorship in China. From my perspective, the issue is widely misunderstood in the West. Government control of the Internet is bad, and often random (no on Facebook, yes on Flicker, sometimes on Tumblr). But for technologically savvy individuals (“give me a T; what does it spell? B-I-T!”), censorship is more of an inconvenience than a door perpetually slammed in one’s face. I’ve yet to meet a college student who didn’t know how to get around or over the Great Firewall, though it may require persistence.

At any rate, back to our workshop, and our listicle. At the end of the session, the students coagulated into groups of two or three. Their mission: Come up with “things to do in Beijing that you won’t find in a tour book” — sites or activities beyond the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Great Wall and other staples for visitors.

Each group scribbled its ideas on a sheet a paper, and students read and discussed them before class broke up. I agreed to compile the thoughts and post them on one of the websites we had just studied.

Our end product is not news and we don’t have video; so forgive me, Medium, but you win by default. (On the other hand, you’re helping foster international relations. Maybe you can take a tax write-off.)

With that, our list of “things to do in Beijing that you might not find in a tour book.” Drumroll, please.

1. Take a tour of Beijing by riding one of the city’s double-decker buses. The student who offered this idea wasn’t talking about a $50-a-head hop-on, hop-off sightseeing service. Rather, he noted that Beijing operates several double-decker bus routes around the city center; tickets are just 3 RMB. Grab a seat on the top level, and get a (low-flying) bird’s-eye view of street life and tourist attractions as the bus rambles down the road.

2. Watch square dancing in the park or on the sidewalk. Beijingers will grab a partner and do si do at the drop of a hat; it doesn’t even have to be a 10-gallon hat. They’ve taken to square dancing like a Texan to Lone Star Beer, and indeed, the craze supposedly was introduced years ago by a Texas ex-pat. (Can we blame George W.? Please?)

3. Ride a bicycle to Xiangshan Park, a.k.a. Fragrant Hills Park, with friends. It’s an imperial garden at the foot of the Western Mountains in northwest Beijing. The park features a pine forest, maple and persimmon trees, and traditional architecture.

4. “Take taxis and talk with the drivers. They will tell you a lot of interesting things about China.” Of course, they’ll tell you these things in Chinese, so you probably won’t understand.

5. At night, hang out at malls like The Place, which features an open-air plaza covered by what they say is the biggest LED screen in Asia. The pixelated shark on the ceiling looks like it just might drop down and chomp your head off.

6. Practice bargaining at Sanlitun Yashow Clothing Market or Xiushui Market (a.k.a. Silk Alley). Offer 10 percent of whatever price the seller is asking: “300 RMB for a jacket? Will you take 30?”

7. Roam around the universities — Tsinghua, Peking, Remnin, BIT. Compare student life here to your campus back home.