We spent 7 days in Beijing, seeing all the major sights like proper tourists and getting really hassled like proper tourists. At times it was not fun to be accosted and pulled by hawkers trying to flog dodgy gear. But the sights were really good. The Forbidden City was amazing, but in a massive state of renovation so we only saw half of it. The rest is hidden under canvas. Chinese renovation techniques seem to be a bit slapdash and you are left with the feeling that nothing you see is that authentic any more. Its also hard to find anywhere that was not flattened by the cultural revolution. The Forbidden City was so vast that even with the millions of people there, we could still find little court yards and alleyways with no one around. A trip to the great wall was the high point of our time in Beijing. We hiked for 10 km along the wall, which was really steep in places and passed through about 20 watch towers. The surrounding scenery was stunning. We also visited the Summer Palace and The Lama Temple which were also visually stunning with a vast array of Buddhas on show. The gastronomical delights of China were on display at the night markets which was fairly queasy viewing.( including mice on a stick). The language barrier is a real problem but we are not starving so we must be getting through some how. It is a bit worrying what might be in your food, especially being veggies. We have now moved South to Keifeng, an old Chinese Town which has retained some of its ancient character. The train ride was 10 hours of hoiking and spitting which is the hardest thing to take in China. It appears to be a national pasttime to hoik and gob everywhere. The view from the train was relentlessly the same, wide open arable plains and lots of orchards. The massive expanses of arable fields were actually divided into thousands of very small plots of about half an acre with individual labourers, often women, tending the fields. Old wooden barrow carts and oxen were seen working in the fields, but mostly it was just hand labour, weeding the crops. Keifeng has been really cold for us but we have had our best room for ages in a super cheap hotel so we have been resting up a bit. After 7 months in the southern hemisphere we are struggling with the bitter wind coming down from Mongolia. The wind is full of invisible dust which you feel on your teeth after any time spent outdoors. We're off for another train ride now heading West to Xian. Just off to find some breakfast on a stick. Bye for now.