Our first visitors!

Sandy, Alan & Aidan arrived in Beijing from Hong Kong on Thursday evening for the weekend.

It was great to see them. Aidan is now 6 months old and a happy, smiling baby (Alan & Sandy are older but also happy and smiling).

The weekend was action packed with visits to the Great Wall at Mutiyanu, the fantastic Panjiayuan flea/antique market, Tienanmen square, the Forbidden City and the Lingzhi foot massage parlour (but more of that later..).

We also managed to have some great meals including drinks and dinner at the Red Capital Club, a revolutionary themed, kitsch, restaurant set in a beautiful old courtyard house in the depths of the Beijing hutongs. The menu was a Chinese modern history lesson and each dish - including Chang Kai-shek's Balls and the Chairman's Favourite Roast Pork... was served with elegantly carved vegetable figures decorating the plate. Tacky - yes; touristy, true..but nicely done.

Sandy in the bar of the Red Capital Club.

As usual, Embassy House came up trumps, supplying a cot for Aidan and a babysitter for Friday and Saturday nights. We didn't understand a word she said but she smiled a lot and Aidan seemed to like her.

Unfortunately, Tac was really ill on Sunday (and Monday and Tuesday too) and so we walked round the Forbidden City without her. Was it the infamous Beijing flu that struck her down? Or did the foot massage have strange and lingering effects on her system? We will probably never know.


Alan & Aidan at the Forbidden City