The train journey from Shanghai was infinitely more enjoyable than my first night train experience. There are a number of reasons for this. 1) the train left at 4pm and arrived at 7am, which meant more time to relax before trying to sleep. The Beijing train left at 10.15 with lights out at 10.30. 2) The Air conditioning worked. 3) the berths had more head room, so much that we were able to sit on the lower bunk and talk to each other. 4) I didnt have a cold (i did on the last one). 5) We had a few drinks. Quite a few in fact, and the time just passed so quickly....! So, having arrived early we were given the morning off to sleep of the train journey, before meeting to try the local speciality ... read more

So, here goes.... We arrived early on the 7th, after a loooooong trip, and spent the first day and a half wandering around the city, overcoming jet lag, working out the metro...all the boring stuff you do on the first day anywhere i guess. Then on the saturday, the 9th, we headed to The Summer Palace in the north west of Beijing. I'll spare you the history lesson, but as far as huge, sprawling, former imperial summer residences go, it is an impressive sight! it is set in a huge park, overlooking a lake, and in total comprises around 100 different buildings; halls, bedrooms, courtyards, temples, galeries etc. it served as the summer home for a dozen emperors or so, or the Ming and Qing persuasion until we (the British) with the help of our then ... read more