大象传媒

After several days walking along the Great Wall of China, we had a great couple of days in Beijing to round off our trip.

There was sightseeing, sunshine, smog, singing and a poignant end to an athletics test event at the Olympic Stadium.

Now all I have to master before I return in August is how to say "cheese" in Chinese.

It was extremely hot and clear when we set out to the on Saturday morning, but it appeared as though it was going to be a disappointing trip as the coach driver either couldn't, or wouldn't, stop as we drove around the site.

The closest we got was a couple of hundred yards away, but it still looked spectacular.

I went for a bit of a run in the afternoon and, as I was getting ready to go out for a celebratory dinner on the Saturday evening, I noticed on the television that China's 110m hurdles world record holder was running at the Olympic Stadium.

It turned out there was a test event on over the weekend and British Paralympians and were taking part.

So, after visiting the and in the Sunday heat, we all went to the stadium as paying spectators and spent a great evening watching athletics.

The security and stewards were efficient and they knew enough English to be able to direct us the right way.

We met up with Dave, who had on Saturday, and he said he had been happy to have had a few days to acclimatise to the conditions. He also said he had no complaints over access issues to the Bird's Nest.

We then cheered Tracey to victory in the 200m for blind athletes - in a year's best 26.82 seconds.

There were 25 of us belting out the national anthem at her medal ceremony although when we saw Tracey on the plane home she said she hadn't heard us!

The stadium itself is magnificent. When it was being constructed I wasn't sure whether it would be an ugly building, but now I've seen it close up, it looks fantastic and the architecture is great.

And the acoustics inside are fabulous - the top tier of the stadium wasn't open so it was nowhere near full, but the atmosphere was great.

And at no point was it better than at the end of the evening for the 4x100m relay.The Chinese fans were massively animated as the national team took on Japan and a team from the earthquake-hit Sichuan region, among others.

The Chinese team dropped the baton and Japan had a five-metre lead over Sichuan at the final changeover, but their anchorman stormed down the final 100m to win by the thickness of a vest and the crowd went wild.

It was an extremely poignant end to a wonderful evening.

The only slight downside was getting away as the traffic wasn't great, but that was probably only because the underground station isn't up and running yet.

The Olympic Park, with the Water Cube swimming venue, looked great all lit up in the dark. Karen Pickering was keen to get inside, but unfortunately it wasn't open.

The Park itself is not quite finished, but it appears as though there are just cosmetic issues to sort out and there's a lot of neon going up.

The same can be said for Beijing itself. There's the odd banner, countdown clock and souvenir shop around town but the branding is yet to properly start.

The people we've spoken to are excited and taxi drivers are just about able to understand if you want to go the Olympic Stadium, although if you want to go elsewhere in Beijing, it's best to have it written down in Chinese.

After a couple of hot, clear days, it was a bit of a surprise to wake up at 6am on Monday morning to smog, and lots of it.

Dave Weir had said it had been quite bad in the week, but there didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason for it and I'm not sure how much is down to the traffic or weather.

I'm back on 6 August, a couple of days before the Games start and will be commentating on the athletics for 大象传媒 Sport.

I'm really looking forward to the men's 100m and is the man to beat there, while in the women's 400m will have to be on top form to deny British duo

Then, after a few days break, I'll be back in Beijing presenting the 大象传媒's Paralympic coverage with Claire Balding.

So, by my reckoning, that gives me about 70 days to brush up on my Chinese.

We thought we were doing well with our "hellos" and "thankyous", but , so no wonder we got the odd funny look.

I've decided I need to work hard on, "no cheese please", as I don't like cheese, and while it's not everywhere on the menus, it will be useful to know.

So, if anyone can help me out there, I'd appreciate it.

Before the Games though, there's the outdoor athletics season and places are still up for grabs on Team GB. It's going to be a busy summer.

Steve Cram was talking to 大象传媒 Sport's Peter Scrivener. Steve will also be on Five Live's Olympic Programme on Tuesday evening from 1930 BST