We met our driver, Mr Jong, in the dark at 7am outside our hotel. We were going to Xiding Markets, a two and half hours drive away thus requiring an early start. Markets are always busiest earlier - by lunchtime often traders are starting to close down stalls and people are heading off for the long haul home. Xiding market, held every Thursday, is one of the largest in the province. As the sky lightened we were aware of workers, hoes over their shoulders, heading into the fields. It was very foggy but as the sun rose higher the fog began to lift. The road was lined with large flat rice paddy fields - the workers were in the process of clearing the fields of the previous seasons rice harvest waste. Eventually we started climbing into
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