A trip to China by a Barnsley College apprentice turned into a culinary voyage of discovery.

Self-styled 'fish and chip man' Joe Beardsall was confronted by the baleful glare of a duck from a plate and a bug in a bread ball when he ate during the five day visit to Beijing and China's fourth biggest city Chengdu.

Joe, 20, from Staincross, said the duck tasted nice but was intrigued when the plate arrived with the bird's head on it.

"The duck seemed to stare at me while I was eating. It is possible to eat the head as well as the rest of the duck but I didn't bother.

"I also tried a dough ball with a grub inside it. I was surprised how tasty it was. It was like having flavoured bread.

"Beijing is westernised and you can get a McDonald's if you want. I am a fish and chip type of person so I was a bit apprehensive when I was urged to try different traditional Chinese dishes. I was shocked because I rather liked some of them."

Joe also had to get used to some 'old fashioned' ways of communicating.

"There is nothing like Facebook in China so the Chinese prefer face to face chats. Building long-lasting relationships is important."

Joe and three senior staff at the college visited Chengdu College of Technology. A group from the Chinese college visited Barnsley last summer while doing teach training in another part of the UK.

"The trip was successful because we built links with the Chinese," added Joe.

Other highlights of Joe's visit included a performer who magically changed masks and trips to the Great Wall of China in a Barnsley FC short and to a glittering shopping centre.