Beijing

Finally met with O - great company as expected. What was unexpected was that like me, she was born on a Friday 13th August. She introduced me to Lao She's tea house (Sichuan opera rocks, and the Shaolin monks were pretty cool) and yesterday we managed to explore the Dashanzi art commune - a former armaments factory. I had been meaning to go there for the last two years, so was glad to finally do it (to my shame, I have explored Shanghai, HK & Taipei in much more depth than Beijing). A late night drink at a funky little bookstore/bar somewhere in Chaoyang district rounded things off.

No. Torch-related events in London yesterday have been 'mentioned' in the English language China Daily in Beijing (I had found out by watching BBC World, which you can get in selected hotels, and interestingly, reports about China are no longer 'blanked out' for their duration. I can also access the BBC News website from my Beijing hotel, which is another change). Not sure if its in the Chinese language press.

Also: the Singapore superhero.