6:00 start today so I had to get up at 5:00 to get ready and finish packing. We checked out of the hotel in groups according to our destination then our group got a minibus to the train station. We caught the 9:00 train from Harbin, dropped off some people in Shengyang, and then went onto Beijing. The trains were amazing - much better than I'd anticipated. We had really comfy seats, there was free hot and cold water, the cleaner came around every couple of hours to sweep and mop the floor and even the toilets were acceptable. We finally arrived at Beijing at 17:00 and Hannah and myself were picked up by Miss Cao who is to be our contact at the school. She took us to where the school driver was and he brought us to Huairou. We are going to be getting our own apartment, but it isn't ready yet and so they have put us into a hotel for a few days. The hotel is a little out dated - very 60's looking and the rooms have a special display of AIDS leaflets and free condoms, so we're hoping we really are only there for a few days! On the plus side it's close to work and has a great shower. The Dean of the school, Mrs Liu, and her assistant came to have dinner with us, and after much discussion about why anyone would be a vegetarian, we had a delicious meal with many types of vegetables. It was finished with a porrige type dish at the end which was just watery rice - not so good!!