I was looked after throughout my trip by Amanda, one of the English teachers in the school. She was my guide and translator. Her Chinese name is Miss He Wen Xiang and she is sat here with Mrs Gu, the headteacher in her office.

After the welcome we went to a small hall for a welcoming ceremony and to sign the partnership agreement. There were displays of singing and dancing, performances from musical groups and speeches from the Mrs Gu and me. I was given letters from some of the children to bring back to England.

I was welcomed to the partnership ceremony by these 2 special children, who also made speeches as part of the occasion.

One of the musical groups played the clarinet and this group, who were made up of older pupils played the saxophone to a very good standard.

The children sat in single desks all facing the teacher at the front. Although it appeared to be very formal, the children were still very lively and there was a a positive atmosphere in every class I visited. The children were delighted to welcome me as their visitor and they all had happy smiling faces.

There were 3 English teachers in the school. This is Mary with Mrs Gu and me posing with some of the gifts I took for them. Mary's Chinese name is Mrs Tian Li Min. Her son is a pupil in the school and was the boy amongst the 2 children who welcomed me to the opening ceremony.

A friendship tree was planted to symbolise the partnership beteen Huizhong Beili No.2 Primary School and Castle Bromwich Junior School. The tree was a cherry tree. Notice also the red and yellow banner at the entrance to the school, which was displayed to celebrate our partnership.

At the end of the first morning I was taken to one of the best Roast Duck [a Beijing speciality] restaurants in Beijing. The photograph shows the chef carving the duck which was delicious. I was complimented for my use of the chop sticks instead of our knife and fork.

The children were introduced to a variety of musical instruments some associated specifically with the Dai culture. As guest of honour I was given the elephant's foot to play in the final performance of the song that was taught in the lesson. The teacher is the lady to the right in the photograph.

As well as the banner at the entrance to the school there was also a banner on the playground saying 'Welcome to Mr Ian Backhouse' Their welcome to me was very special and one I will never forget.

The ceremony of raising of the National Flag and the singing of the National Anthem was awesome. Over 600 children and their teachers stood immaculately to attention and raised their arm and eyes as the flag ascended the flagpole. This ceremony takes place every Monday morning followed by morning exercises. During this activity Mary explained everything that was happening to me.

After the National Flag I was treated to a Martial Arts display. The school has a professional coach who trains the children in martial arts. The display was very impressive.

After the activities outside we went back into school to see an art lesson. The lesson was all about Folk Toys from different regions of China. The children were shown a variety of toys on the interactive whiteboard and they discussed their appearance and how they were used. Whenever the children spoke they stood up to give information or their opinion.

The first part of the lesson took about 20 minutes and then they all had one of the toys to work on in a practical colouring activity. Each group had a different toy and different art materials to work with. During the lesson Amanda explained to me everything that was happening.

After the art lesson I taught my lesson to a mixed age group.I did some work on names and also on their favourite sports linked to the Beijing Olympics in 2008. The logo for the Olympics is One World One Dream so we were able to discuss that before I showed the children a book I had brought from England called 'W is for World' which had pictures from around the world in alphabetical order. The photograph was taken with the children I taught.

This a farewell photograph taken with the three English teachers who taught at Huizhong Beili No. 2 Primary School. From the left Mary [Mrs Tian Li Min], Amanda [Miss He Wen Xiang ] and Lily [Mrs Liu Li]. They were each absolutely fantastic to me and looked after me so well I will never forget them. I am hoping to go back to visit the school again in October half term with 4 of the teachers from CBJS. We are hoping also that they will be able to visit our school in England some time in the future. I have lots of ideas as a result of my visit to China to help develop our partnership to the benefit of the teachers and children in both schools. It will bring some exciting new opportunities.