The Olympic Green Village in BeiJing 北京

With Walk East ...

With three different videographers ...

The Great Wall of China is an immensely long man-made wall that was built to keep out invaders. The Great Wall spans nine provinces and its total length is 6,700 km (3,948 miles). The Great Wall extends from ShanHaiGuan (the 'Old Dragon Head'), a seaport along the coast of BoHai, in the east (near BeiDaiHe resort) to JiaYuGuan Pass in GanSu Province in the west. Like a giant dragon, the Great Wall of China winds its way across grasslands, deserts and mountains. Listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987, the Great Wall ('Chang Cheng' in Chinese) is a true marvel and a testament to the long history of the Chinese civilization. Today, people from all over the world visit to walk on the Great Wall of China, to stand on a watchtower and view the wall snaking into the distance. This treasure is now protected so that future generations can see the Great Wall with the same wonder and amazement as we do now. Some parts of the Great Wall have been overwhelmed by the elements. Some parts have been covered by the desert. Others eroded by local people recycling the wall's materials for constructions in their villages. Nevertheless, the Great Wall in large part still stands in silent splendor, enduring the passage of time and greeting the changes of the seasons as it has done for many hundreds of years.

Modern China, center of business and commerce, began here, in GuangDong province, south east China, just forty years ago, following the vision and effort of Deng XiaoPing (1904 - 1997). Deng XiaoPing opened China to the world, as it had been during the long period of a prior golden age with the Silk Road to the Middle East and Europe (by land) and other parts of south east Asia and as far as Africa via the Silk Road of the Sea. His policies are credited with helping China to develop in the most startling transformation that the world has ever seen, raising the standard of living of hundreds of millions. This followed his Southern Tour of 1992 when the likelihood of adoption of his vision still looked slim. Deng was also a key player in the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997. Too far. some might say, but without this move, the position to debate that would not now exist. Let's take a stroll along a street in the downtown on a spring evening ...

With Rafa Goes Around! ... Bonus film - on smartphone life ...

Chéngdū is the capital of SiChuan province.

Near the border with Korea in north east China, the city has a large ethnic Korean population.

JiLin province ...

JingShan Park lies immediately north of the Forbidden City (Palace Museum).

Beautiful ...