In southern China, where there are hills, there are rice terraces. These “ladder fields”, as they’re called in Chinese (梯田, tītián) snake across hillsides from Fujian to Yunnan, cut into thousands […]
I recently found myself in the awkward position of having to call someone to ask whether they were still alive or not. The man in question, Doctor Ho, and I […]
In the course of many trips to China over the last fifteen years, I have spotted the following wild animals: an enormous stag that bolted in front of our car […]
A few years ago, while working as a tour guide in Yunnan, I had a guest who – every morning – insisted on “not eating lunch for breakfast”. She had […]
Over the past few trips, I have been collecting pictures of Chinese children with the things they spend their pocket money on. From my entirely unscientific observations, these seem to […]
Dali in Yunnan is home to some of China’s best-looking vegetables. The Bai people who live in and around Dali have been blessed with a lush, fertile strip of homeland, […]
On last week’s trip to Yunnan we visited Tiger Leaping Gorge near Lijiang. We drove through the gorge and stopped at a viewing platform where – as I know from […]
I’m in Yunnan at the moment, doing a mini road-trip and visiting old haunts and friends en route – lots of fun, but very little time to write anything. So, […]
