Beijing

I have been some 28 years ago to China and Beijing but don't remember much apart from bicycles everywhere. That had really changed and now the car is king, and the roads are really busy. Use of the subway is recommended as the fastest way to get about. Though funnily enough, they are now trying to reintroduce the bike with 'Boyce bikes' - yellow or orange free bikes within the city.

Tiananmen square is the one of the main attractions. It holds 1 million people and it is surrounded by iconic buildings such as the chairman Mao Memorial Hall (the Chinese queue for five hours to have their picture taken here), the Great Hall of People, the Museum of Chinese History and leading to the Forbidden City. Visiting the Forbidden city is superb, they operate a one-way system so there are no queues. I recommend doing this on a tour so that you can have a guide help explain all the different areas and how and why it was built. Take an umbrella, the best thing for the sunshade!

A fun afternoon spend visiting the Hutongs of Beijing, the old area of low level streets. We went about on bicycle rickshaw which was a lot of fun and visited a home of a traditional family.

Early morning the next day we set off the Great Wall of China, some two hours from the city. It is still amazing - a steep climb to the top but the views are worth it and there are picture opportunities.

Other places to visit: The Bird's Nest stadium, Yi He Yaua, Su Zhou Jie, Temple of Heaven. Make sure you get involved in the local eating as I loved the Chinese food. We were on a group trip with On The Go and benefited from have lots of meals included and the itinerary including the main sites, and a very efficient fun way of seeing the heights.