Beijing Day 2...

Today has arrived with a little wind and fantastic blue skies!! It's bright, clear and the air smells fresh and clean - much better than our first two days!! In fact, it's so sunny I thought I would tell everyone about it. Suddenly there's colour, and reflections, and shadows. Things just don't seem as gloomy and dull as a day ago, and the air isn't so thick and smokey.

We're on our way to the first appointment and our guide, Ray, is entertaining us with a sweet rendition of the Chinese national anthem. Soon we'll be enjoying a traditional tea ceremony and as we travel through the old part of the city we're stunned by the beauty of the buildings.

This is a traditional part of the city and we might be able to enjoy some local delicacies like fried scorpion or cocoon. Ian's real keen...

Ray tells us that this part of the city is very old and you can still see some of the old traditional houses that have different roof colours depending on their position, such as yellow for royalty, green for high-ranking govt officials and grey for workers.

It's a great history lesson on this old city. Perhaps we are beginning to see a little bit of beauty hiding in this city that's cloaked in gloom and grey?

After the tea swilling, we get to enjoy lunch in a Chinese Hutong home before separating so hockey and football can go off to their afternoon games.

More later!!