We left Ulan Bator on a decidedly calmer train than the one on which we entered. In fact, it was a little taste of luxury! We had a TV for each bed, a plug socket and a carriage full of friends we had met while in Mongolia! We passed the time chatting, playing cards and reading - the journey really flew by. We even managed a few quick glances of the Great Wall as we passed through China towards Beijing.

The difference between Mongolia and China is apparent as soon as you cross the border. We went from the Gobi Desert to a neon lit city within a mile. Extraordinary. Our journey through China was amazing to see, we passed through different mountain ranges and lakes. It was already more green than all of Mongolia which we had seen.

We arrived into Beijing just after lunch and we were greeted by a sea of people. After a couple of weeks of wilderness, walking into Beijing's 22,000,000 population was a bit of a shock to the system! We were pretty sure the whole population of Mongolia was trying to get out of the train station at the same time as us. It is nice to be back in civilisation again!

We got to the hostel by bus after a failed attempt to get a taxi in the heat of the day. We were told it should be about 15 Yuan but instead we were quoted between 150-250 Yuan by several different drivers! It turns out the bus cost 1 Yuan (about 10 pence!) per journey so we were glad we didn't decide to get a taxi. The journey to our hostel was brilliant, Beijing is such a busy city but its so clean and everyone are so lovely. An old lady swapped seats with Laura so she didn't have to stand on the bus with her backpack! (she literally grabbed my arm and pulled me until I sat down - I usually do not approve taking seats from the elderly!).

Once we got to the hostel we all checked in and had a proper wash. Mongolia hadn't had many showers so we all appreciated it! We booked into the same hostel as three of our friends we met in Mongolia so as soon as we had showered we headed out for our first taste of Beijing with some more newly acquired friends. We wandered up to the lakes at about 9pm thinking it would be getting quieter, but it was the most amazing sight. The whole lake ground was electric with people selling different light toys and people for as far as the eye could see.

We decided on our restaurant and sat down to enjoy our meal. However we hadn't realised the restaurant was just closing. The waitress kept shouting at us for our order and writing down any food we said out loud. We quickly realised why she was rushing us so made our choices and got our food. It was nice to all sit down and enjoy some 'real' food. The train journey had been more noodle pots so a decent meal was welcomed by us all!

After our meal we continued our walk around the lake. While deciding whether to get a boat we noticed a nightclub blaring out music. We quickly changed our choice from boats to drinking. Inside we got our first drink and were happily sat drinking and chatting. However, the Chinese men had other ideas! They quickly dragged all of the guys up and wanted to dance with them and have photos taken. It is very quickly noticeable how much they love Westerners and lots of people wanted to take all of our photos throughout the night. The night out was great fun, all the people wanted to dance all night and it was nice to see so many friendly people in a club. Makes a big difference from clubs in England!

We arose slightly later than normal after a late night and decided that we wanted to sample a bit of Chinese culture - consumer style! We headed out for Beijing's famous Silk Market. Its a seven story building filled with 1100 stalls selling everything from bags to chopsticks, electronics to teapots. You really can get anything there!

We all split up into teams to buy what we wanted. The boys went for watches, the girls went for bags.

The girls had a successful trip and came back with four bags between them. Meanwhile, the boys were getting insulted left right and centre for our "crazy" bargaining techniques. We employed a good cop, bad cop routine which eventually got us excellent prices for the watches we bought (even if they did take all day).

The next day we decided to head out and get down to some sightseeing after a couple of days off. We made the decision to see the Temple of Heaven down in the south east of the city. The temple is basically a park with three temples in. A really ancient one made of stone, a medium sized wooden one in the style we all expect Chinese buildings to look, and a copy of the medium sized one, but three times the size! This massive one is spectacular and in the sun the colours really shine.

We wandered around the grounds and through all the tree lined paths which links everything together for a number of hours until the time came to get down to business; the girls needed to go to H&M! Through all Toms complaining, they managed to get the 'essentials' the required and the rest of the week could then be dedicated to all things Chinese.

The next day we took two bus journeys north to the Summer Palace which is simply stunning! There is a huge lake which is overlooked by another spectacular temple. However, the grounds are huge and filled with other beautiful buildings, lakes, trees and even an ancient shopping street which runs along a river with high arched bridges to link the shops together. That day we felt like real celebrities. If Laura or Sarah ever lingered too long looking at something they had a queue of people asking for photos. In one session they had five different people lined up to get their photos taken with them. Apparently they aren't so used to our Western looks!! We are considering getting t-shirts made that say 'No photo please'.

Once we finished there, we decided to try and brave the Beijing subway system to try and negotiate our way to the Olympic Stadium. I'm glad we did! The metro here is the best transport network we have seen. It is so easy to find your way around with arrows pointing the directs the trains are travelling, stop names in English, lights to let you know which side of the train the doors will open. The trains are also impeccably clean (even when you are crushed in like sardines!).

We walked out of the metro to be faced with the National Stadium (Birds Nest). It is HUGE and even more impressive in real life. We managed to get there just before sunset so we saw all the lights come on and watched the whole area light up with Olympic rings and multi-coloured buildings all around.

After walking around in awe, we managed to find an underground ticket office and we were able to get inside the stadium for a walk around. While we were in there, there was a bit of a show going on along the running track which had some Kung Fu, Chinese dragons and drummers. Not bad just for the entry ticket into the stadium!

The following day (5th October for those trying to keep track!) was the day Ben, Adam and Georgina were to arrive from the UK. Tom woke early as ever and was greeted by their smiling, but tired faces following a successful flight into Beijing in business class! We had decided to ease them in with an easy day of cycling around Beijing after a slap up lunch.

The lunch wasn't really a success as the restaurant we chose wasn't really big on customer service. The first dish came out after half an hour and the last after about two hours. We didn't go back. It wasn't the best introduction to Chinese life, but we assured them this was a one off!

After this we hired our bikes and braved the Beijing traffic! 10 minutes later (and a lot of screaming of near misses from the girls), we left the roads and cycled around the nearby lake. It was very peaceful and you can really see why the people here love their cycling so much - its so flat and pretty, you've gone miles before you even realise it!

In the evening, we had booked to go and see some acrobats. After nearly missing it through a bumbled bus/taxi attempt, we finally ran into the theatre to watch the show begin. It was spectacular! We had people flying across the stage left right and centre on stilts, bikes, trampolines and a giant spinning metal wheel suspended 20 feet in the air! We even saw the acrobats nearly die on two separate occasions (both on the giant wheel, but he fortunately saved himself at the final moment). The Chinese don't seem as keen as England on wearing wires in case they fall, definitely added a more dangerous feel to the evening.

The following morning we woke up early for our day out at the Great Wall. After an uncomfortable minibus journey, we arrived at the wall and set ourselves the challenge to walk to the end of the restored section and back in our allotted three hours. We set the pace high and stomped along, flying past the Chinese people loitering at each watch tower. We soon found out why they did!

The heat of the day and the near vertical inclines made for a tough hike to the end with the final stretch requiring you to literally climb up! Exhausted, we reached the top and collapsed into a sweaty heap long enough to take some photos and catch our breath. We then turned round and made the precarious journey back down to the bottom where we found the real reason we came - the toboggan! We then hurtled down the side of the wall along the mile long track on nothing more than a tea tray with wheels.

At the bottom, we decided to reward ourselves with "I climbed the Great Wall" t-shirts. Upon asking how much they were, we were astonished to be told they were 200 Yuan each (£20)! We wanted eight of them, and were in the mood to haggle. We wandered through the stalls and eventually managed to bully a little Chinese man into giving us all eight for 120 Yuan!

The next morning we woke up refreshed after one of the most well earned sleeps we'd all had in years. Rather than take it easy, we decided to take on the colossal Forbidden City.

It's hard to say too much about the Forbidden City as once you are in there, a lot of the buildings are very similar and you walk from palace to palace, courtyard to courtyard marvelling at everything you see. The really impressive thing about the place is the sheer scale of it all. It really is a city within a city! It took us over two hours to walk from one end to the other in a straight line and we were in the complex for over four! Even more impressive is that there is still a huge amount not yet open to the public. I think when that's open you will need to buy a week long ticket just to get around and see the main bits!

Our final day in Beijing was spent at the Silk Market where everyone wanted to buy all of their souvenirs for their first week in China. The pace was just a frenetic as before, but we were ready. Everyone walked out with bargains - the traders had never seen anything like it!

That evening, we got on the train, exhausted, to head to Xi'an. We were all really sad to leave Beijing, it has undoubtedly been the highlight of the trip so far. We have said that although we have seen better sights elsewhere, nowhere else has the atmosphere there is here. Its a very special place and we will all be returning as soon as we can!