Pandas! China's national treasure, and about 30 of the precious creatures at the Chengdu Panda Reserve, which is where Anna and her family took me today. People tend to forget (I know I did) that the black and white panda is technically the "Giant Panda" and there is a smaller, lesser known "Red Panda" too. They're like a cross between inquisitive meerkats and.. cats! I have definitely decided that they're my domestic pet of choice. Haha, even more desirable than the siberian tiger, and far less likely to, i dunno... eat me. The red pandas available for a cuddle and a picture for about 200Y, (a lot by local standards, under £20 to you) but I was more interested in getting a picture with one of the giant pandas, before they die out, poor things. So, ... read more

Azure City Mountain, or Mt Qingchenshan, was pretty awesome. It's named because it looks like it's surrounded by a collosal wall of connected mountains and the effect this had at the top was stunning. The air was misty too, just like in my most memorable dreams. .... A most excellent mountain, which I would recommend to any of you, since it's almost like a well kept (national) secret -few foreigners ever make it here, and it's really unspoilt by commercialism. And it was good clean work out as well. A shrine to Lao Zi, (Literally means "old dude" haha) philosopher and author of Tao Te Ching, is at the top, riding on a golden bull. Legend has it that he was born aged 37, with white hair and beard, hence the name. It rained a lot. ... read more

This mountain soars over 4000m above sea level and is named Yellow Dragon because of the yellow soil that runs in a winding dragon shape all the way down. The BIZARRE chemical reaction that occurs on the ancient glacier runway causes these thousands of pools, that resemble the scales of the dragon. Close up, each one's resemblance to a jaccuzzi bath is uncanny. Oxygen tanks were sold to combat altitude sickness, which allegedly included symptoms of fainting, vomiting, and heart attacks and things but all Anna and I saw was a fat kid with a nosebleed. Once again, the scenery was stunning and I loved it. At the top, there were views of the neighbouring snow-capped mountains, which I didn't expect to see so close up this summer. Truly awe-inspiring; I don't know if i'll ever ... read more

In an utterly random turn of events, my dad completely randomly suggested on the phone that I take a detour to Chengdu, in Sichuan, 561 miles away! The original plan was to head north to Shaolin, and then east to Xi'an, (look it up on a map if you want) but this kind of turbelence is typical of my dad, as any member of my family will know. Hence, here I am in Sichuan, dubbed as being host to the best food in China, and really very hot. There's a saying that goes: Visit Sichuan when you're old, because when you get there you'll never want to leave Some friends of the family were extrememly kind in letting me stay with them there, and I toured most of the sights with their daughter, Anna. Chengdu is ... read more

WooHoo! I've managed to add this town into this website, and I feel all proud.. Seeing as I lived here 16 years ago, lots of the retired teachers seem to expect me to remember them! C'mon, I was three years old! I feel a bit strange about constantly being praised about things I feel I have (or had) no influence/control over -such as my height, (I seem to tower over most chinese) and my English, which I was inevitably going to pick up, seeing as that's where I grew up. Things I actually worked for (like exams, extra-currricular activities and voluntary work) amount to little, which might say something about the nature of life.. if I wasn't heading back to the world of CV's and Degrees, in September. The place itself is beautiful, but none of ... read more