Departing from Wushan, the ‘Little Three Gorges’ cruise is an enjoyable day-long excursion up a tributary of the Yangste river. It includes such curiosities as suspended ‘iron coffins’, and holes in the sheer cliff-face bearing witness to an ancient plank walkway. Rock formations include ‘Fairy Maiden Cave’ and ‘Fairy Throwing a Silk Ball’. Whilst the […]

In mid autumn the overnight train from Urumchi disgorges passengers at its penultimate stop around dawn. A fleet of buses trundles us onward the few miles into an urban centre. We have arrived at Bole the principal town of Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. There is a nip in the air, […]

Tuesday’s London Mandarin Learners Meet-up session involved participants introducing themselves to the group. One of us turned out to be a ‘swing’ dance instructor. This brought to mind another of Su Shi’s poems – Butterflies Lingering over Flowers