There seems to be a bit of confusion about Ping An/Long Sheng/Longji, at least in my mind. I was'nt truly sure about where i was when i was viewing the rice terraces....was I in Ping An still? Was this Longsheng or was it Longji I was looking at? No signposts that i could see, no big maps in the hotel, maybe i just wasnt looking hard enough. Anyway, it harldy seems to matter to me now, it was all stunning. After 3 hours on the road straight from the airport at Guilin, we were not expecting a 20 minute hike at an average incline of 45 degrees with three kids who all needed the toilet. But the minute you got over the souvenir infested bridge (and the ladies selling weren't really trying, just looking at the ... read more

Visitors to Beijing will quite understandably high-tail their way to the major sites of interests as soon as they get off the plane. The Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Temple of Heaven and the Great Wall and so on. These places, whilst spectacular and popular will only give you a certain perspective on this immense and complex city. In the meantime, like in any metropolis, life carries on unabashed and uncensored. In the hutongs (alleyways) and suburbs, ordinary people go about their ordinary lives in happy seclusion. Shunyi County, approximately 17km NNE of Beijing proper is unremarkable in many ways. This though to me is part of it's appeal both sociologically and in terms of images that can represent it. Apart from the airport, gated communities, golf courses and Starbucks (yes, really), Shunyi is a largely agricultural ... read more