I had been invited to accompany Tim from M&S on his trip to China. We were going to vsit the Kingdeer factory in Inner Mongolia who process cashmere right through from the raw fibre to the finished garment. We were also planning to go out to the grasslands to see a farm where they keep cashmere goats. The trip was to conclude with a visit to the testing centre in Beijing who verify the purity of the cashmere.
Now I am presented with an exceptionally difficult task - where to begin! So much has happened, so many experiences, tastes, smells, sights, and emotions I have to try and capture in writing, I really don't want to miss anything. Logic dictates that I choose a chronological approach and begin at "the beginning", so hold on to your hats ladies and gents, let the journey commence…

I spent a nervous Sunday thinking of making my way to Beijing alone. Tim from M&S was meeting me there but as I have never been further than Greece & the Canary Islands I was a little apprehensive.
I left Manchester at 11am on Monday 10th May and flew to Helsinki where I was to transfer to a flight to Beijing. There was a 2 hour stopover & I got chatting to two great Irish guys on their way to Latvia. They had missed their connection due to a late departure & took great pleasure in spending their consolation vouchers on wonderful Finnish beer for all of us.
I arrived in Beijing feeling unexpectedly alert after a very long flight. I think the elation of having got there without any hitches was the reason. Both flights had been perfect, on time & nice food. I collected my baggage, which to my surprise was delivered in seconds and went off to meet Tim. I was having trouble getting my head round the fact that it was now Tuesday due to the time difference. We had to wait a couple of hours for two of Tim’s colleagues arriving from London so we headed off to the coffee shop. We were surprised to hear Auld Lang Syne being played but it became clear that the Chinese have one tape that they play whenever English people appear as we heard it wherever we went.
We then went out of the airport to get a look at Beijing; the first thing that hit me was the heat, and then the traffic! Upon stepping out onto what looked like a pedestrian crossing we were nearly mowed down by a line of traffic - Chinese drivers do not stop for anything or anyone that is in their path of travel, so you can imagine the difficulty involved in a simple task like crossing the road.

Gary & Joanne arrived & we went off to catch our flight to Batou in Inner Mongolia. We were met by the driver from Kingdeer who took us to the factory.
This factory employs 7000 people & they supply the whole world with cashmere, the biggest market is America. M&S have just signed a deal to supply cashmere garments & the object of the trip was to ensure the quality of these garments. I verify that they are 100% cashmere and was there to check their quality control procedures.

On Wednesday we embarked on a 5 hour drive on dirt tracks out to the grasslands passing mud huts amidst empty miles of grassland. The scenery was breathtaking, mountains to our left & flat grassland as far as the eye could see ahead.
What happened next was entirely unexpected, we were greeted by a reception committee at 11.30am who welcomed us with the first (of many) drinks of the day and adorned us with silk scarves, we were then led by a team of horsemen waving flags to the reception hall of the tourist centre. The people had made a special effort and we felt like royalty!

We spent the next 3 hours dining on exquisite Mongolian food and Gambeiing non stop. The Chinese don't just sip their drink, they constantly (about every few minutes) toast each other shouting the phrase "Gambei" (which literally means "empty glass"), so you can imagine how drunk everyone gets! I excused myself after about 4 drinks as I wanted to enjoy the rest of the day.
We were invited up to the stage so we could begin the carving of the whole lamb they had cooked in our honour. I was asked to cut a small piece of skin and offer it to the gods in thanks for the food. We were then treated to a spectacular show of traditional Mongolian music and dancing.

Tourists, mainly backpackers visit the tourist village and stay in Yurts.

Yurt is the name commonly used to refer to a Mongolian Felt Tent.
A Yurt is really more than a tent. The Mongols live in them year round and tend to prefer them to other forms of housing. The design has been developed for generations to suit the needs of its inhabitants. It can be warm in arctic cold, yet cool in summer. The structure can collapse small enough to fit on one draft animal and can be set up again in a half an hour.
We were then taken to a farm to see the cashmere goats & meet the farmer & his family (more drinks!!!).


We saw the goats being combed and then Fangfang, the farmers daughter took me to see some newly born calves.

We returned to the tourist centre to see the camels and partake in a wild horse ride. This was very scary as my horse decided to bolt & I nearly came off. The boy leading managed to calm it down & I dismounted unscathed and relieved.

Our hotel in the grasslands was suprisingly luxurious, even having a jaccuzi in the bathroom.

I woke early on Thursday morning so decided to go out for a walk. It was here that I realised the extent to which I received "the look", this is (for those who haven't experienced this phenomenon) an obvious and uncomfortable stare cast by "the locals" - I almost felt like a minor celebrity! No matter where I am or where I go, Chinese heads will always turn when I walk their way, usually accompanied with a semi-recognisable murmur of "Hallo", followed by fits of laughter when I return the greeting.
We were then taken to see the new village that has been built for the farmers. The Chinese government has decreed that the goats can no longer graze the grasslands as it has led to erosion of the land so they are going to be penned & fed off hay. I think it is sad for the goats but probably essential for the long-term ecology of the grasslands.

After a visit to the Beijing testing centre we were taken to Tiananmen Square, which is massive and unlike anything I imagined, the whole square gives an image of China's power and history.

The weekend was free to enjoy Beijing and I was fortunate that a friend of a friend lives there & was happy to show me round.
The Great Wall of China, which is as impressive as it sounds, it runs for miles on end and further than you can see, it really does make Hadrian's Wall look like a partition in a field!
Travelling through the city I noticed that there were a lot of expensive clothes shops & department stores, various banks, restaurants, vendors, supermarkets, western hotels (which entertain western businessmen and the rich) and a number of other small businesses & street sellers. It also became apparent that Beijing (like a number of cities throughout the world) had not escaped the takeover of fast-food restaurants, with the existence of a KFC and McDonalds.
By Saturday I was craving a pizza & Beijing presented me with one of the best I have ever eaten.

The worst thing about the whole trip was the toilets. Chinese "squatters" aren't that pleasant, just a hole in the ground and they are very messy! Fortunately the hotels cater for the western toilet needs & have proper sit upon ones, my hotel in the grasslands even had a Jacuzzi!!

Taxis were another feature of Beijing that I just couldn't miss, due to the fact that there are literally thousands of them, and quite simply because of the noise they produce. Every time a taxi comes close to a person (whether they are in the middle of the road or on the pavement), they will sound their horn; if they drive past another car, they will sound their horn; if they change gear, they will sound their horn; if they slow down or speed up, guess what… they will sound their horn! It's just absolutely mad and very annoying. But they are very cheap; about a fifth of the price we pay in the UK.
Travelling through Beijing in order to get a feel of the city I opened the window, and it was just like being underwater and surfacing for breath. The amount of different sounds, smells and tastes that flooded in through the window was amazing; the sound of the hustle and bustle of the busy streets that were crammed with cars, buses, people and bikes; the loud volume of music and people shouting and blurring outside shops in order to entice customers; the constant tooting of car horns; the different smells and tastes that seemed to change from breath to breath - freshly cooked food from the street vendors, exhaust fumes or pollution, raw sewerage. It was a bit of an overload on the senses, but it truly was impressive.

A few of my favourite dishes (although it is really difficult to choose) include: tang cu li ji (sweet and sour pork), gang zha li ji (pork in batter), suan rong you cai (a type of Chinese veg cooked in garlic) and jiozi (Chinese dumplings).
I can tell you that those horror stories you have heard about the food are not actually horror stories, but real life! Let's think, what have I eaten hhmmm – camel hump (rather greasy but nice flavour), pigs trotter (more fat, quite sloppy, a lot of flavour - but not a nice flavour), lamb soup - which sounds quite innocent but…it has pieces of the lungs, liver and blood clots floating in it, although it's actually quite delicious, deep fried scorpion (quite crunchy, and very tasty I might add), turtle (which I didn't find out till after I'd eaten it - rather fishy), snails (look like stringy snot, and taste - well, let's just say different!), deep fried insects (crunchy, but again quite nice), bone marrow sucked out with a straw (no comment!), dog (actually alright but slightly too much fat), donkey (!), ducks head (very little meat, more skull than anything else) and many other "local delicacies".
These are live scorpions & cockroaches in the market!!!!!!!!!!

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