Just a quick warning - this is going to be a long one! After 9 days in the Chinese capital, there's so much to write about and i'm not sure where to cut it down. So, in the words of Winston Churchill, I'm going to write a long one in the absence of time to write a short one.... Stay with me!

We made it into Chinese territory on Friday 29th October (I have to write this down as it has already got to the stage where we don't know what day of the week it is, which I suppose is a good sign!)

I think one of the best things about travelling by train is the fact that you don't just arrive suddenly at a city's airport. I am loving the feeling of being eased slowly into a country and having the opportunity to see some of its less touristy sights (from the comfort of the train) before setting out to explore.

The approach to Beijing was no exception. The scenery from not long after the Mongolian border, all the way to the outskirts of the city, was fascinating. Glimpses of the Great Wall from several kilometres away, snaking it's way through the mountains, were just one of the highlights. We got a close up view of rural life and agriculture in China as the train passed by the numerous small holdings which line the track. It was the season for harvesting sweetcorn and we saw plenty of hard labour in the surrounding fields, much of which was still being done by hand with the support of an overloaded donkey and cart. This rural scene was also contrasted with the giant modern motorways, hydro engineering projects and huge coal fired power stations, which would also flash by our windows every now and again serving as a first reminder of how quickly China is changing and growing.

I had spent this last leg of the trans-Siberian journey reading Wild Swans, a book that most of my friends read back in the 6th form. I don't know if it's because we were about to spend time in the country, or just because it's an amazing book in itself, but it had a huge impression on me and made me even more curious about the people and country we were going to be visiting. Charlie and I have done a lot of reading up to now - trying to understand at least a little bit about the countries we're passing through so quickly - but I'm going to need another year off (and a separate rucksack for books) if we're going to do it properly.

Anyway, we finally arrived at Beijing South Train Station at 2pm and said goodbye to our fellow trans-siberian travellers. It was quite sad to think we won't be travelling in that little cabin again, although my husband has already started to make the case for taking the same train home again next year...

We split our stay in Beijing between three places, the first of which was in a lovely Courtyard hotel in the Dongcheng district. We were in the middle of the Hutongs - a huge network of narrow lanes and alleyways which reflect life as it used to be in old Beijing. This area was previously home to officials of the Emperor's administration, a short commute from the Forbidden City where they worked. The bigger houses had up to 4 stars above the doorway, indicating the seniority of the occupant, as well as square or round stone pedestals outside the front door for government or military officials, respectively.

Beijing (and the rest of China) is currently in the middle of a population census. Interestingly, there was advertising everywhere and we regularly saw officials walking through the hutongs with their clipboards, seemingly checking out every little alleyway and potential dwelling.

Like most of Beijing, different Hutongs and areas were allocated to different types of staff. Also, different suburbs were dedicated to the trade of specific goods, and this is still in evidence today. We seemed to be in wedding photo shop district and neighbouring maternity district. We also passed through the "eye" district where there were over a hundred outlets all selling glasses. I'm not sure how they compete...

It was in the Hutongs that we had our first introduction to the Beijing traffic system. I never thought I would say this after Mongolia, but it's nuts. Although there appear to be some rules, they don't favour the pedestrian. Zebra crossings seem to serve no purpose beyond aesthetics and even with The Flashing Green Man to back me up at junctions, it seems that anyone turning left or right is entitled to run me down together with a good hooting. In the end, our tactic became "safety in numbers" - ignore the lights and cross in a group, so at least there's another body between you and the oncoming car to soften the blow. This system seems to work for most people in the city as there are apparently very few accidents. This said, you still have to admire the millions of cyclists and rickshaw riders who dare to navigate the traffic while at the same time carrying/balancing their load, be it sightseeing tourists, cases of empty beer bottles or even 5 metre scaffolding poles...

On our first evening out and about, we made it over to Tiananmen Square and witnessed the lowering of the national flag at sunset. Huge crowds turned out for the occasion and there was a healthy dose of pomp and ceremony as the guard of honour crossed the road in the Chinese fast, bouncy, quickstep marching style, but apparently this happens every night...We were also watched over by the huge tribute to Chairman Mao which is mounted opposite the square - something I found extremely unnerving having read more about this guy in the last few days.

We also paid a visit to the Donghuamen Night Market, a tourist hotspot lit by pretty lanterns, but worth it just to see the scorpion kebabs (still wiggling on their sticks) along with the more standard fare of steamed dumplings and noodles (I think you can probably guess which way we went...)

On Saturday, we enjoyed a leisurely start and after abandoning the idea of visiting the Forbidden City (weekend tourist deluge - arrrrrrggh!) made our way over to Beihai Park, a beautiful patch of green with a lake, in the middle of the city. This was to become our favourite activity in Beijing and a much better way of learning about the locals. It was so relaxing to wander through the cypress trees and to listen to the local women singing together in small groups and people playing music and dancing. The simple pleasures...

Having spent most of the day there, we managed to climb up and catch the sunset view from Jingshan Park (set on a hill and looking out over the Forbidden City). The views of the city were stunning and, on this occasion, wonderfully complemented by the operatic soprano who was out exercising her lungs for half an hour in the grounds!

Sunday was spent checking out the amazing Panjiayuan "dirt" market. This was really worth the visit. It was huge, with about four football pitches worth of stalls selling everything from antiques to books, tea sets to calligraphy, including an unpromising, dodgy looking street cafe selling delicious beef stew and fried shredded pork (which we seem to have survived!) In the afternoon, we checked out another park - Longtan - for more relaxation with the Chinese locals out enjoying the sun. At one point a young boy, fascinated by our white faces, came over shyly and announced to us "welcome to Beijing!" Very cute.

After a fun-packed day, we treated ourselves to the famous 'Peking Duck' for dinner - strips of roast duck wrapped up with spring onions and plum sauce in a thin pancake - YUM! Despite the great ratings (apparently, Mao used to eat here), and although the food itself was good, the restaurant experience itself wasn't up to much, reminding us yet again that the guide book isn't always to be trusted!

We had been expecting the city (and people) to be quite difficult to navigate, but the ongoing rapid growth (together with the Olympics in 2008) has had a huge impact. Road names and many other signs are now in English making it a much easier experience all round. We made good use of the extensive underground system during our stay and thought it was excellent. It's extremely well organised and runs like clockwork - I think London could learn a thing or two for sure. As for the Chinese themselves, although quite reserved, we found most people to be really helpful and generally friendly. The city appears to be very clean (street cleaners everywhere) and felt very safe to us, whether out in the main shopping district or walking in the Hutongs at night.

On Monday, we braved the Forbidden City (the former Imperial Palace and home to emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties), Beijing's tourist hotspot. It is very impressive, with some amazing architecture, and we spent several hours here exploring the different ceremonial buildings, courtyards and pavilions. Although the guide book had promised us an audio tour narrated by former Bond actor, Roger Moore, we sadly had to make do with a hyperactive Chinese lady with an American accent telling us about the vital statistics of EVERY building we walked past. Lesson number 178 - don't pay for electronic guided tours...

Just as we were leaving, there was a really lovely moment when Charlie was trying to take a photo of me and a young Chinese girl approached, joined in the photo and then asked us/insisted that we follow her. We agreed on this occasion, despite the number of young students using a similar approach to con you into rip-off tours. She ended up taking us to an area in the Imperial garden where two cypress trees have grown together intertwined, and formed a seat. She wanted us to sit in it as it's supposed to bring happiness to couples. It was such a sweet gesture and, while the sceptic in me was waiting for the catch, she disappeared without a word.

Leaving the Forbidden City, we were bombarded by the many rickshaw drivers waiting outside for the gullible tourists. On this occasion (very, very tired feet), and while avoiding the 10-times-the-real-price rip-off merchants by the main gate, we found a great bloke on his own and treated ourselves to a ride back to the hotel through the Hutongs (clinging on for dear life as our rickshaw weaved through the evening rush hour...!)

It was from our next base - the Happy Dragon Hostel - that we visited the Great Wall. Heading out to Mutianyu, 90km north of Beijing, we spent an amazing day walking on a section of the wall and taking a ridiculous number of photos. We even managed to get one or two that didn't have 100 other tourists in the shot... The truly stunning views and hilarious toboggan slide down the mountain at the end of the trek more than made up for the awful people we had to share the minibus ride with (NB these people were the exception, not the rule - most people we've met on our travels so far we've got on very well with!) The small stretch of Great Wall we saw was spectacular, and we had a lovely day, but the tourist trap nature of the experience meant it's nowhere near our top 10 days so far. Charlie made a comment that while the wall was built to keep out the mongol hoards, he'd rather face them than the army of hawkers selling tourist tat.

Over the next two days, we also managed to fit in a couple of trips to see the Chinese acrobats and opera. Both were highly entertaining, especially the opera which really had to be seen (or rather, heard) to be believed. The high pitched falsetto screeching was something else...! The bar for acrobats nowadays has been set so high by the likes of Cirque de Soleil (Charlie pun - sorry), but even so some of the tumbling tricks these guys were doing were really impressive, including the 19 girls balanced on one bicycle riding round and round the stage at the end.

For our last three days we decided to try a "homestay" (paid accommodation with a local person/family) for the first time. We both agree that this really made our stay in Beijing and we learnt more about China and the Chinese during this time than is possible from any guidebook. Our host, Lucy, a 50-year old Chinese lady, was fantastic. She looked after us from the minute we arrived (cooking delicious stir-fried noodles for lunch) to the moment we left - delivering us to the station in a taxi for our onward train journey. I had unfortunately managed to pick up a cold and was feeling pretty grotty when we arrived, but she was soon taking Charlie out to buy special cold-curing soup for me and helping me to get cough mixture from the pharmacy.

We ate with her on several occasions in her local restaurants and it was great to have someone ordering who actually knew what everything was on the menu! We asked her a lot about the history of the country (particularly the Cultural Revolution) and the current political situation and she was surprisingly open with us while giving a very balanced view of some of the more controversial aspects of China's past. Especially interesting was the way she described Chinese people and how they live and communicate today - the tendency to still answer most questions fairly obliquely is heavily influenced by the behaviour of their ancestors centuries ago.

During these few days we also managed to see the Summer Palace (stunning!) and the Olympic Park from 2008 (this was just down the road from where we were staying and occupied a huge area which now appears to be relatively unused). On the last morning, Charlie got up early to go and see tai chi in the local park while Lucy popped out to get traditional chinese breakfast of a hot bowl of bean curd milk and a couple of steamed dumplings. According to Charlie, the bean curd is fine in a cup tea, but a steaming pint in front of you at 7am is a bit much... Added to this, trying to chopstick juggle a whole dumpling into his mouth resulted in a rather embarrassing and messy splash which Lucy found highly amusing. The tai chi, on the other hand, was very relaxing with around 50 older people conducting slow graceful movements to relaxing meditation music. A great way to start the day in your autumn years, and wind down after a life of Beijing hustle and bustle. Just next to the tai chi, in a small cordoned off area, was a wizened old man teaching a young boy to fight with a spear. Brilliant.

Charlie is going to write about our journey from Beijing over to Japan so, if you're still with me, first -congratulations for making it to the end and second - hope all is well with you!

Beijing summary:

Best decision - visiting the city in October. It really is the best time to come with the beautiful autumn colours, especially in the fading evening sun.

Biggest surprise - the city wasn't as crowded as expected - while still very busy (now over 22 million people and a further 3 million tourists every year), it didn't feel overcrowded

Funniest sight - people our age casually wandering down the street on an errand dressed in their pyjamas and slippers, as if it's perfectly normal to do so.

Best sales tactic - the "where you fwom?" refrain used as an introduction by anyone trying to sell something. Charlie tried the 'Inca Cola' trick of replying 'The Moon' and was amused to hear the stock reply of: 'Aah that's my favourite country. Very beautiful. I want to go there on my holidays'

Worst sales tactic - the annoying "art students" waiting to pounce at every set of traffic lights (the latest scam aimed at convincing unwitting tourists to visit their "free exhibitions" with their uber friendly patter and then forcibly charging them for the pleasure)

Biggest irritation - the disgusting spitting noise that Chinese men, and occasionally women, make when walking in the street. They haven't managed to stamp this one out yet.

Favourite cliche - China's camera culture. Everyone young and old has a camera - almost all of them better models than ours. They use them a lot and they are 'photo copiers' - every time we found a nice backdrop and took a few snaps, we'd turn round and find people queuing up behind us to go next!

Most amusing habit - blatant staring at westerners - our new tactic is to say hello, wave, or in some situations even take a photograph of them! which soon puts them off.

First reminder that we were in fact in a Communist state - no Facebook!! (but of course, with a combination of technological intuition and free market incentives, there are ways around it e.g. www.ninjacloak.com)

Favourite street name - "Little Chrysanthemum Alley"