Great meeting with the Vice Mayor of Beijing Chen Gang, who handled all the construction for their Olympics.
I'm impressed how the city is already moving beyond the Games to ensure the site has a legacy. Chen Gang told me about a science museum and art gallery that will be opened in their park.
The athletes' apartments - praised by their occupants over the last few weeks - are all set to be sold off. Many of the venues are already tied to universities and students will soon enjoy them.
I'm told of other potentially lasting benefits to this city, like the traffic-reducing measures put in place for the Games. Locals have got used to only driving their cars on alternate days, according to whether their registration plate ends in an odd or even number. The scheme's due to end tomorrow but there's widespread public support for keeping it and the Mayor of Beijing is very tempted.
Air quality was vastly improved by the closure of dozens of factories before the Games and friends tell me most of those will not re-open.
The trick for us is to build on the good relationship between London and Beijing in the aftermath of these Games. That's why I've just had lunch at Beijing Zoo, which wants closer collaboration with London Zoo. In time, sharing expertise could lead to exchanging staff and some animals, as well as pooling resources to conserve habitats and protect endangered species.
Had the joy of feeding an otter and baby panda before being handsomely fed myself.
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