Beijing is great shame about the locals.

Well arrived in Beijing on Monday and have seen lots of the main sights but would need more time than iv got to see everything. unfortunately wherever i go i get pestered and yelled at by locals trying to sell me cheap tacky souvenirs or other rubbish which is starting to get annoying. have avoided most of the people who also try to rip you off by asking if you want to go for a cup of tea which will end up costing as much as they think they can scam out of you.

Other than the normal annoyances of Asia am having a great time. cycled to the Summer palace and a few other places which was interesting given the condition of the bikes you get out here (not sure the wheels were round and the bearings were well worn but all the bikes are in this sort of condition and what can you expect for about 60 pence, have been to the Forbidden city and also walked 10km along the Great Wall yesterday which was worth getting up at 5am for.
Was wanting to go to Yinchuan to see the 108 pagodas but they are about 85km from the town and all this would take two or three days to get too from Beijing and is lots of messing about so have decided to scrap the idea. Am going to head to Xi'an to see the terracotta warriors and then down to Chengdu, then Chongquing before heading to Yangshou for about the 25th and stop until after new year. not sure on plans after that but feel like i need a rest week as all this travelling gets tiring. Have heard that the old Portuguese port of Macau is nice so will perhaps head over there in the new year. For now I'm going to enjoy yet another cup of tea and put my feet up for a while as they have been well worked over the past week or so.