Guang Zhou Hotel Beijing

Got up bright and early to join the queue to see Mao in his Memorial Hall, and visit the Forbidden City as we'd missed it all the day before.

It's free to see the mummified Mao although there are pretty rigorous security checks to go through before you're permitted to join the queue that snakes around Ti'ananmen Square from 8am.

These start at the tube station (all Beijing metro stations have scanners your ...

... some water to drink."

She looked at the lie of the land, then ran out of the trees. Several hundred paces away, she found a small stream which was flowing swiftly after the heavy rain. As she bent down to wash her hands, she caught sight of her reflection in the water, the dishevelled hair, her wet and crumpled clothes, and her face, covered in blood and dirt.

"Damn!" she thought. "How could I let him see me looking so awful?"

... ARCHERS in a position for an assault on the enemy.

CAVALRYMEN 180cm in height hold horses reins in the right hand and a crossbow in the left. Thought to serve as messengers during battle.

The HORSES each have sixth teeth, an indication that they are in their prime.

Amid the restored warriors lie a large number of smashed and broken figures resembling the aftermath of battle than the preparation for one.

Spark told us an anecdote - a ...

... The lake itself made one of three unique areas within the palace and covered the largest part of entire complex. Some sources claim the lake is entirely man-made. But other sources say that the Kunming Lake was once a natural lake on the spot where mountain springs in the northwest of Beijing converged. However, people did start tinkering with it rather early and when the Emperor Qianlong began with construction of the Garden of Clear Ripples, the lake was expanded to its current size ...

... was paddling a boat around the lake at the Summer Palace. According to Frank, it is the largest lake in Beijing. It is a tranquil and scenic place, even though the air is, well, the air in Beijing. Frank and I had a nice day, taking it easy, paddling about the lake, then wandering about the grounds, people watching, and just enjoying the fact that it was Saturday. I even enjoyed a cappuccino in a pagoda, which I've never done before ...

... so you better view the pix! First stop was the Forbidden City, so called cause it was out of bounds for over 500 years. It's a truly enormous Walled City within the very heart of Beijing , I guess much like the Vatican in Rome. The City has about 50 complexes with each having its own Palace, amazing place! Next stop was Tianamen Square the largest city square in the world and home to the famous scenes from the 80s where the student protests stopped the ...

... especially when compared to Hong Kong! Daytime highlights during the day included: a trip on the Maglev Train to the airport, which covers the 30 km distance in 8 minutes and reaches a top speed of 431 km/h; a trip to the top of the Jin Mao Tower - which is one of the tallest buildings in the world and stands about 420 m up and 9340 km away from London according to the writing on the window; The Bund - which was and still is one of the ...

... of eyewear shops. I had a pair of funky glasses made, and then we met the group for a night train to Shanghai. As a side-note, I don't think I can emphasize enough the importance of the forthcoming Olympics to the the Chinese. They are making incredibly drastic changes to their capitol - construction cranes abound and new subway lines are being built. The pressure is felt to show the world that China is a first-world nation.