CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON PEKING DUCK

You won't know how hard I worked to get this shot... 1000 people just around the corner!

Simatai Great Wall

Quite unbelievably, we had it to ourselves

The Forbidden City, anyone see the General?

The General and Western at Simatai

Birds nest Olympic stadium

This might inspire a few of you to travel!

The Forbidden City, and those very dangerous umbrellas....not the eyes, not the eyes.

First up, congratulations to the winners of the 'Are you the farmer?' quiz... joint winners no less, a Mr Russell Scott from Shepherds Bush, and a Mr Jon Woods of no fixed abode, they will both receive a generous helping of carbonara, well done boys!

Thanks to Dave 'Was I in that band' Bootle for posting the previous updates from London, we expect to not have to trouble you again Dave, now that grown up behaviour has returned to us here in Mongolia.

So this is the final post about what is surely the worlds biggest building site, just under 8 weeks completed in China with us desperately trying to find space, we came across it rather bizarrely on the Great wall at Simatai - this is a dramatic section of the wall, on its eastern extremity, and I would recommend this to anyone visiting China. Being able to wake up next to the wall and stroll for a couple of hours before others arrived was a completely unexpected bonus, and a welcome break from the incessant qeueing that has been such a tedious feature of our time here.

Beijing was very hot and very humid, but the excellent metro system meant we could get around cheaply and quickly. We ate excellent smoked duck (queued 1 hr to get it), chose not to eat 'sauteed camel hump' (I kid ye not) from the same menu, or indeed sea horses or star fish from the night market.

We observed the lowering of the Chinese flag at Tiannanmen, and went to the theatre to see a terriffic shaolin warrior display - this came complete with an over officious steward and her laser pen, picking out anyone who dared to take a picture. We visited the Birds nest Olympic stadium, and the Cube swimming pool, entertainingly filled with Beijingiites displaying poor lane discipline. Western got up extra early to beat the crowds and visit the Temple of Heaven Park, which was a delight and featured a wonderful display of communal singing. Its been one of the country's highlights - groups of people exercising/dancing/singing - all ages using the public spaces.

The old style single story dwellings known as 'Hutongs', in Beijing and other Chinese cities, are disappearing fast, but our guest house south of Tiananmen was near one of the remaining areas, narrow alleyways and communal toilets provided an interesting neighbourhood!