On the road from LiJiang to Shangri-la

Xi'An is the provincial capital of ShaanXi, central China. August 13th 2016 : high heat alert - over 40C is seriously hot so take plenty of water (and some salty food). Xi'An is one of the oldest cities in China and was known as Chang'An prior to the Ming dynasty. Indeed, Xi'An is the oldest of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China, having held this position under several of the most important dynasties in Chinese history, including the Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui and Tang. Xi'An was the eastern starting point of the ancient Silk Road trade route. Xi'An is also home to the Terracotta Warriors of Qin Shi Huang, who became China's first emperor after the Qin (dynasty: 220 to 210 BC) conquered / unified all of the other Warring States. Rather than maintain the title of 'king' borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he created the title of 'emperor' (皇帝, HuángDì), which would continue to be borne by Chinese rulers for the next two millennia.

Discover the world's best futuristic city lights show, in GuangDong province, China ...

Geo-politics - 2021 review, and what might be in 2022. With The New Atlas - Angelo Giuliano and Brian Berletic ... Anything one hears on MSM, or social media, is probably BS. Real freedom is when there is a pause between propaganda and reaction - when one stops to first think (am I being duped?) ... Keep being real and sane is this crazy world. The world is full of richness. But insanely imbalanced in distribution. That's the reality, so long as the many are duped into believing that that is how it should be ! Into 2022, cherish what you have and love all around you. Always be above division and manipulation. In China, the people are family. In the West, the people are livestock. While China acts to build a better world, the West only strives to try to preserve its dominance. Sad, but true. Bonus film - with Pascal Coppens ...

Meanwhile ...

The exquisitely beautiful LiJiang (丽江) is located in YunNan province in south west China and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is populated mainly by the NaXi ethnic minority. LiJiang lies close to Tiger Leaping Gorge and the Snow Dragon Mountain.

A beautiful film from JiangSu province, east China ... Includes scenes from TaiHu Lake Scenic Area, just to the west of SuZhou.   SuZhou - A city for the poetic life 苏州：诗意生活 A wonderful animation in traditional Chinese painting style ... The classical gardens, temples and canals of SuZhou

Completely random bonus film - a Halloween party at an international school ... And one more ...