We flew into China on a 8 am flight. Arrived into Beijing International airport at about lunchtime to absolute chaos. They had better sort it out before the Olympics. It took us 45 mins just to clear immigration and then another 10 minutes to try and find where our bags went. By that time our guide and driver had thought we had not turned up. We eventually found them though.

We were introduced to Ma Li, our english speaking guide, and Leo our driver for the next 3 days.

Leaving Beijing airport we got our first taste of Chinese driving and traffic. One thing to learn - there are no road rules. No one indicates, no one wears seatbelts, everyone speeds, beeps their horns, cut people off and drive in 2 lanes. Not to mention the moving obstacles in the thousands being bicycle riders and pedestrians who don't like to wait for the lights. There were many moments when we just looked at each other wondering how there wasn't an accident or whether we would have to enact our travel insurance so early in the trip!

After picking us up from the airport they took us straight to a Chinese restuarant for a peking duck lunch. The food was amazing and we tried mooncakes for the first time (which are a traditional Chinese dessert that they share with family at this time of year when they all go back home to visit their families - kind of like a Chinese thanksgiving celebration). We were waited on by sometimes 3 staff at a time and every time someone new came into the restuarant all the girls and guys that worked there would staying yelling something out that echoed right through the restuarant to the kitchen staff where they would answer back. It was a quirky little place and most frequented by locals.

After lunch we were taken to the Hutongs.

From Wikipedia: "Hutongs are narrow streets or alleys, most commonly associated with Beijing, China. The word hutong comes from the Mongolian hottog meaning "water well." During the growth of towns and cities, wells dug by villagers formed the centres of new communities.

In Beijing, hutongs are alleys formed by lines of siheyuan, traditional courtyard residences. Many neighbourhoods were formed by joining one siheyuan to another to form a hutong, and then joining one hutong to another. The word hutong is also used to refer to such neighbourhoods.

In old China, streets and lanes were defined by width. Hutongs were lanes no wider than 9 metres. Many are smaller; Beijing hutongs range in width from 10 metres down to only 40 centimetres.

Since the mid-20th century, the number of Beijing hutongs has dropped dramatically as they are demolished to make way for new roads and buildings. More recently, some hutongs have been designated as protected areas in an attempt to preserve this aspect of Chinese cultural history."

We toured around the Hutongs in bicycle rickshaws - we got one each. The rickshaw rider who got Tony was very proud that he got to take Tony around as he was a little man and was boasting to his fellow riders how strong he was. We later caught up with his identical twin brother. The banter between them was hilarious. The twin brother pretended to try and lift Tony up and whilst we could understand all that they were saying you could tell that there was a lot of pride. One family that lives in the Hutongs has opened their house up for visitors. They still live there but at desigated times allow tourists to have a look into their home.

After the Hutongs we had some extra time before the acrobatics show so our guide took us to a traditional Chinese Tea Ceremony. We got to sample some tea and liked a couple so much we brought some. It was interesting to learn the process for tea making and what it means to the Chinese people.

Then it was time for the Chinese Acrobatic Show (and for Tony to test out his new video camera). The stunts they do are just amazing (and sometimes terrifying).

Finally we got delivered to our hotel to check in. Our hotel is right across the road from Central Station and there is a cosistent mass of taxis honking horns and people at all hours of the night. There is a huge screen TV running news and advertising 24/7. It is amazing to watch but our room was a little noisy even with the thick windows.

We're completely exhausted after such a long day but have to be up early tomorrow to have breakfast before we get picked up again at 8am - off to see the Great Wall - can't wait!