Duke of Cambridge arrives in China for four-day visit

Prince William has arrived in China for a high-profile trip that will see him highlight the illegal wildlife trade, visit some of the nation's most famous sites and meet a rescued elephant.

William's flight landed in Beijing after he had spent the day in Japan hearing the harrowing stories of survivors of the 2011 tsunami.

The Duke's four-day trip to China is the highest profile visit by a member of the Royal Family since the Queen's 1986 state visit and will be viewed as an attempt to improve diplomatic relations with the country.

On Monday the Duke will tour Beijing's Forbidden City before flying to Shanghai where he will launch the three-day Great Festival of Creativity at the city's Long Museum.

William - who has campaigned strongly to end the illegal trade in ivory and other endangered animal products - will travel to Yunnan province on Wednesday where 250 wild Asian elephants still roam free.

He will give a speech at a regional wildlife and conservation conference after seeing rescued elephants and learning how local communities live alongside the large animals.