Jing Guang New World Hotel Beijing

... as local people gather here every day to sing folk songs, practise tai chi, play cards, sword dancing, play chess, dance, ribbon work and cards or to gossip... something we should have in Australia!

In the picture with the man on all fours walking on the cobble stones, this promotes blood and circulation flow to the body's extremities.

The man you see with the broom between his legs and circle in his mouth is a quiet famous in China – he is 71 ...

... good view of the area & all the smog. This city is very smoggy for 2 reasons. Rocky, our tour guide told us that every day there is 1/5 of the cars that are not allowed on the road. For example, if your license plate ends in a 1 or a 6, then you cannot drive on Monday's. If it ends in a 2 or a 7, you cannot drive on Tuesdays, etc. The other reason is because the government does not heat the high rises until November 15 so when ...

... and a deluge ensued. During the downpour, lightning crackled all around and the sky became literally as black as night. We rode the storm out in a little noodle shop where we had lunch and watched the rain.

The rain continued and the streets were flooded as we headed back to the hotel. By the time we reached it, we were half-soaked, despite our umbrella. We retired to our room for a while until the weather cleared.

In the afternoon, we made the long hike to ...

... though nothing new for most living here: The environmental problem in the country is "very serious" or "relatively serious", according to more than three-fourths of the 10,000 people surveyed in 31 provinces and municipalities. Results of the study, conducted by the China Environment Culture Promotion Association (CECPA), were announced on Friday. The survey, carried out every year since 2005, focuses on public awareness vis--vis the environment. About 76 percent ...

... to China to start a software company, they had moved right into China's technology heartland, with Microsoft's office tower visible down the street, in an office park along with Sun Microsystems and Google. Like other foreigners living in Beijing, they had also seized the opportunity to buy dozens of Olympic tickets and were attending events almost daily. And best yet, from my perspective, they were only minutes away the Olympic venues.

... trek along the Great Wall of China. The trek was along and original part of the wall from Jinshanling to Simatai- just over 8km and not the typical tourist area.We had to take our own food (pringles, Snickers and strawberry flavour Koala bears as opposed to everyone elses well prepared lunches) and 4 liters of water. We took the cable car to the first of 30 towers we would pass by along the way and by the time we were finished we were well and truly FCUKED!!! It ...

... to admit it but I jumped at the chance! Even then when we meet the wall again at Simatai we had to go up and down a bit and over a bridge and then we stopped at the end (well, not the end of the wall of course as it truly does seem to go on forever!) my legs were shaking, visibly shaking so Neil and I shared a beer and sat down and recovered for a bit. Neil feeling a bit gutted that we took the short cut decided to go up on the wall again. Its fantastic excercise!

... scenario, I quit right? My next session with her is next Saturday afternoon- this week is going to be really busy since we have midterms on Thursday and Friday (which I haven't quite gotten around to starting to study for... ooops). After that though we may have an actually homework free weekend (possibly?) which would be great! I definitely miss everyone back home, and hope things are going well with you guys. Lots of love from here, xox Katie

... Crescent Lake. Lunch and dinner. Overnight in Dunhuang. Day 10 Dunhuang/Turpan (B L D) Breakfast in hotel. Morning tour to Mogao Grottoes, a shrine of Buddhist art treasures. Lunch. Afternoon tour to Dunhuang Museum, which reflects the flourishing social development and cultural exchange between China and the West during the time when Dunhuang was a major centre along the silk road. Dinner. Railway station transfer for your overnight soft sleeper ...

We were greeted with crisp air and a beautiful blue sky as we made our way to the Temple of Heaven. The structures and thought put into this religious and ceremonial area is astounding. The layout was particularly impressive with it being based on the number nine (the emperor's number) and the number twelve (the twelve months of the lunar calendar). The temple itself is beautifully decorated and built. I couldn't imagine modern day ...