Woo Hoo here I am in Beijing! Arrived at 7.20am this morning from another overnight train from Xian. Have already visited the Forbidden City - home to the Ming and Qing Dynasties during the 15th Century - and Tiananmen Square - the world's largest public square which can hold half a million people (and it felt like there were that many there too!!). Just had a lovely feast on Peking Roast Duck (very yummy) and am heading to a Kung Fu Show tonight. The Panda reserve in Cheng Du was great - really enjoyed that - even managed to go into an enclosure and pat two giant Pandas! Really enjoyed Xian - Arrived early morning from Cheng Du on, yes you guessed it...an overnight train and decided to get straight out to stretch our cramped up legs. Dave, Andrew, Lisa, Fleur and I rented bikes and had a great afternoon cycling around the City Walls. Xian is one of the few cities in China where old city walls are still visible. They were built on the foundations of the walls of the Tang Forbidden City during the reign of the Hongwu, the first Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. They form a rectangle with a circumference of 14Km which built up a healthy apetite for all concerned. Just as well as we then atttended a Dumpling Banquet and dance show in the evening. The Dumplings were great - there were 16 different varieties varying form chicken and pork to walnut, pumpkin, duck and vegetable. The dance show was amazing to watch too - such grace and elegance. Dave, Andrew, Lisa and myslef then decided to head to a nightclub......it was certainly an experience....not only did we have our bags searched and had to walk through a metal detector but all the security staff, and there were many, had bullet proof vests on!! Wondering what on earth we had got ourselves into we decided one drink would be enough, however that proved to be more difficult than expected as over here you don't order 'one drink' or even 'one glass' - it is all sold by the bottle or for beer, by the case. So us ordering 4 drinks caused a lot of confusion and took ages. We drank quickly and quietly (couldn't talk anyway as music too loud - O God I sound old!!) and headed to bed. Anyway sorry I can't put any pictures up - its a feat that we even found internet (and the time in which to visit it!!) so my words will just have to do for now and hopefully I can upload some piccys soon. Hope everyone is well in the UK xx (and yes I have heard about the bombings in London so please stay away from there!!)