We set the alarm to wake up at 5.45am. We checked out our hostel then caught the metro at 6.30am to get to the Shanghai Railway Station. We boarded the train at 7.10am, the train left on time at 7.19am. The journey was smooth and comfortable. For standard class there was so much leg room. We ate our pre- bought pot noodles for both breakfast and dinner using the free hot water available on the train. The scenery through most of the journey was beautiful with mountains, forests, rice fields, villages and much more for us to see.

We arrived on time in Beijing at 6.30pm. The train station we arrived at was very modern and impressive. We took the metro to 'Qianmen Station', from here we walked to try and find our hostel. Helen was struggling to carry her backpack out of the station as it was heavy, Jay helped by carrying Helen's backpack on his front whilst carrying his own on his back. We got lost for a short amount of time but soon found our way to the hostel after asking for directions at a nearby hotel.

When we arrived at our accomodation, the' Emperor Guesthouse', we were both very impressed as it was a 240 year old traditional Chinese house that has been converted into a guesthouse. This makes for a fantastic and unique place to stay as neither of us have stayed in one before. The common area was spacious with a Ping Pong table and guest rooms surrounding it. We stayed on the upper level which had a walkway overlooking the common area. Our room was very basic but comfortable with a shared bathroom which was adequately clean.

We later went to an ATM machine to get some cash out. We had dinner at the 'Roast Duck Simple Dish' Restaurant. We shared diced beef fried rice and a sweetcorn and egg soup. The size of the dish was massive, we could not finish either of them, even with Jay's appetite.

After dinner, we transferred our photos from our memory cards onto our USB stick using one of the staff member's laptop. We then paid for our room and had some Tsing Tao beer.