Hello! We are weary after a couple of days of sight-seeing in and around Beijing. On Tuesday we went to the Forbidden City, and spent several hours looking round the various palaces and gardens. On Wednesday we went to the Summer Palace, which was the summer retreat of the royal family, on the outskirts of Beijing. It's a large park containing an enormous lake. It is very picturesque, with bridges and pagodas and other pretty buildings on the lakeshore and isla...

Hi. We are in Beijing! We got the train on Thursday. It took a day and a half from Ulaan Baatar, but the border crossing was much easier than getting into Mongolia. On the way we passed through the Gobi desert, and also saw the Great Wall - photos coming shortly. We have been taking it easy, and sharpening our bargaining skills at the shops. They know how to drive a hard bargain here, but we still managed to snap up a few things. Food has been good includin...