After skipping the hotel breakfast in favour of supermarket snacks we met the rest of the group at 9am and set off on the 10 minute walk to Tian'anmen Square. It is even bigger in real life than I ever imagined and was swarming with people queuing up to see embalmed Chairman Mao at the mausoleum.

We pushed through the crowds - a sea of brightly coloured umbrellas (for shade rather than rain protection), shouting tour guides and souvenir sellers - and reached the main gate, portrait of Mao hung proudly above.

To be honest I found the Forbidden City a bit disappointing. Maybe it was too busy to fully appreciate, and in any case our tour guide Leah seemed to be rushing us through. I much preferred the Temple of Heaven; a far more tranquil experience. The buildings were beautiful, and Leah's explanations interesting, but it was frighteningly hot and humid which meant that the cultural significance was perhaps lost on most.

After the Forbidden City we caught a local bus to a Bell and Drum Tower (used to wake the people in the morning and send them home in the evening) and then explored the surrounding 'hutong' (an area where the poor live in Beijing, with shared toilets and shack-like housing).

After a wander round, the group split up with four of us venturing to try a local noodle restaurant that seemed to have the Chinese equivalent to KFC's The Colonel as it's patron. I ordered the cold chilli and cucumber noodles, which were surprisingly good considering I had absolutely no idea what I was ordering when I pointed to a picture of them in the menu.

After a quick rest at the hotel the four of us then decided to head to the 798 Art District, via a bank so that Abi could change a traveller's cheque.

Changing a traveller's cheque in China takes over an hour - bit of a shock! When Abi had finished we sprinted to the metro, got to Dongzhimen and then caught a cab to our destination.

798 Art District is absolutely incredible. A series of around 60 galleries built in and around a disused factory site, showcasing a range of contemporary art. The streets too are covered jn art, from graffiti to sculpture. Unfortunately we didn't have much time, so only visited a handful of the galleries. It was so exciting to see this young and vibrant side to Beijing after the history overload of the last few days. My favourite piece was a giant cage of bright red dinosaurs, as high as a building, just sitting there in the middle of the street.

In the evening Leah arranged for us to have a traditional Beijing Duck Dinner (Peking Duck!). We caught a local bus to the restaurant, where we once again sat in our own room with a spinning table. We could then go and see how the duck is cooked, in a flaming log-filled oven. While we waited for the duck we feasted on a range of other dishes, including sesame beef, peanut chicken and spicy mushrooms. The chef then paraded the cooked duck around the room for us to inspect before taking it away for carving. The duck is served just as it is in a Chinese restaurant at home, with pancakes, hoi sin sauce, spring onion and cucumber. I learnt how to make up my pancake with chopsticks - proud! The duck was delicious, although it was difficult to ignore the duck heads staring at us from the plate! I also tried a Chinese speciality of dipping the crispy duck fat in sugar, although I have to admit it didn't really do it for me! After we had finished they brought us a soup made from boiling up the duck bones, which tasted good - like a slightly oily chicken broth.

After the meal we headed back to the hotel to pack as it is our last night in Beijing. I have absolutely loved my time in the city and wish I had come a week earlier. There is so much more to see! Off to the Summer Palace tomorrow, and then catching the sleeper train to Shanghai. Not sure how much wireless access I'll get from now on, so unsure when I'll next be able to update this.