A trip to Inner Mongolia 内蒙古 province

Views of the Palace Museum ...

Bonus film - Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse ...

With Beijing Old Liu ...

No ! - look over here, at this weather balloon ; ) The 'Rules Based 'International' Order' - hmmmmm ...

With Walk East ...

YinChuan, 'Silver River', lies in NingXia province, central - north China. It is located near the western bank of the upper course of the Yellow River, in the south-central section of the HeLan Shan mountains and the Ordos Desert. Thanks to the Yellow River, YinChuan enjoys beautiful natural scenery and favorable conditions for agriculture and has long earned the fame of a "River Side City in the Northwest" and "Home to Fishes and Rice". Around the city of about 2 million are a number of interesting cultural sites, including part of the Great Wall of China (not far from the western end-point) and grand mosques (Hui minority) and lies on a trade route from cities in the far west to the east. Nearby are the extensive Western Xia Dynasty (1038 - 1227) Tombs, 40 kilometers to the west. There are two pagodas in YinChuan that are part of the 'Eight Famous Sceneries of NingXia': one is the HaiBao Pagoda in the northern suburb and the other is the ChengTianSi Pagoda in the west. Sand Lake lies about 50 kilometers north of YinChuan. Being a world of desert and a large lake, it is a place of beautiful nature and a great getaway. The immediate plains area, intensively irrigated by a system developed as long ago as the Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 220), is very productive for agriculture. A great film by Sticker Travel ...

With Sammy and Tommy ...

Xi’An : • City Wall • Terracotta Army ZhangYe : • MaTi Si • Rainbow Mountains • DanXia Grand Canyon DunHuang : • Gobi Desert

JiuZhaiGou Valley (九寨沟), literally 'Nine Villages Valley', is a nature reserve and national park located in the north of SiChuan province, near the GanSu border. JiuZhaiGou is part of the MinShan mountains on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau, and is known for its many multi-level waterfalls, colorful mineral lakes and snow-capped peaks. The elevation ranges from 2,000 to 4,500 meters (6,600 to 14,800 feet). It lies 330 km (205 miles) north of the provincial capital of Chengdu and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This remote region has been inhabited by various Tibetan and Qiang peoples for many centuries. The valleys here are lined with 55 km of roads for shuttle buses, as well as wooden boardwalks and small pavilions. The boardwalks are typically located on the opposite side of the lakes from the roads. Many visitors will first take the shuttle bus to the end of RiZe or ShuZheng valley, then make their way back downhill by foot on the boardwalks, taking the bus when the next site is deemed too distant. JiuZhaiGou is a ten hour bus ride from ChengDu, or one can fly from ChengDu or ChongQing to JiuZhai HuangLong Airport, then take an hour long bus ride to HuangLong, or a 90 minute ride to JiuZhaiGou. There is also a daily flight to Xi'An, in the peak season, and from BeiJing, ShangHai and HangZhou.