I've been in Beijing a little over 24 hours yet still have experienced far more than ever imagined.
As soon as we were off the plain we were whisked off through the thick smog to a banquet room near our hostel where we were given the strangest array of foods. Ducks blood made into a strange jelly, ducks feet, squid, seaweed, and what I think what appeared to be pigs' brain were offered to the 21 of us - all of whom were exhausted after the 24 hour long journey.

This morning we awoke early to cycle through the busy city of Beijing to talk to the head of Rolls Royce in East Asia. He was one of the first volunteers sent to China from Project Trust 25 years ago and gave us information that would massively help us in the coming year.
Once the talk was over we had four hours to explore the city on our bikes. A large group of us cycled across the centre of Beijing - on motorways, which was once of the most terrifying experiences of my life - until we got to Tiannemen Square.
The square itself was vast, there were thousands of people visiting and remembering such a large part of their countries past; but there were also a large number of people who got excited by seeing a group of foreigners and subsequently we attracted masses of people who were desperate for a photo with us.

Surprisingly, I haven't experienced terrible culture shock. The main differences were the weather and the traffic.
Back in Scotland, as everyone knows, the weather is cold, 360 out of 365 days of the year. Here, however, the weather is strange. Although it is intensely hot - today is was 33⁰c - there is no sun; due to the smog and pollution and no matter how much you drink you feel intensely dehydrated.
Another problem is the traffic. I was scared crossing the road in Edinburgh but this is a whole new experience. The only rule you need to know is that no matter what the other road users are doing, and no matter what the traffic lights indicate, you just speed ahead and forget about what others around you are doing. I won't even start about what cycling on a motorway was like…