Matt at the Long Life Monastry, Mt Emei, Sichuan

On the train from Chengdu to Xian. We had the two top bunks.

'Secure' bridge over a raging torrent, Danba, Sichuan

Chinese digger for Hallam

Matt's neigbouring passenger listening to The Beatles on our IPod. 9 hour bus journey from Danba to Chengdu, Sichuan

Golden Buddha at the top of Mt Emei, one of China's sacred mountains, Sichuan

View at the summit of Mt Emei, Sichuan

Whislt on our walk we stopped to help these fellas stuck in the mud

Us walking in the hills around Danba, Sichuan

Traditional houses in Danba, Sichuan

Stopping for a rest with the locals, Danba, Sichuan

Danba scenery, Sichuan

Prayer flags and monestry (view from our guest house), Tagong Grasslands, Sichuan, SW China

Monks circumnavigating the monestry, always in a clockwise direction

View of Snowy Mountain and surrounding peaks, Tagong Grasslands, Sichuan

Matt wearing Yak horns, Tagong Grasslands, Sichuan

Grazing Yaks owned by Nomads, Tagong Grasslands, Sichuan

Greetings from China. We hope that the blog is looking OK. Sadly, we are unable to view it here in China as it appears that the absurdity of the Chinese Authorities Firewall prevents access to view the blog even though one can access the blogger website and post accordingly. The BBC website is also blocked. If anyone knows a way around this please email us. Otherwise, we'll look forward to seeing if the pictures we are posting actually appear on the blog when we arrive somewhere else.

Things go very well for us generally. We are presently hacking around Sichuan Provice in western China where the scenery is amzing and the weather is terrible. We'll be heading up to Beijing for the beginning of August and then looping back around to Lhasa, Tibet. From there we hope to travel west to Mt Kailash and, permits allowing, exit Tibet from Ali through the middle of nowhere towards Kashgar. Then it should be a mountain adventure in Kyrgyzstan and onto Kazakhstan. From there we'll either train it up to Moscow or try and grab a boat across the Caspian Sea towards home. Many miles ahead.

More pandas at the breeding centre near Chengdu, China. This picture may be broken also.

A Red Panda, looking rather like a racoon, Panda Breeding Centre, Chengdu, China.

A Teahouse in Chengdu, China. One buys a cup and some tea leaves and then a chap comes round and constantly refills your cup. Nice. Haircut anyone?

(This picture may be broken) Mysterious Chinglish in Zhoaxing, central southern China.

Trying to buy a train ticket, Guiyang, China. Is there a queue? Every station ticket office that we have seen has an enormous number of people trying to secure tickets.

This tremendously helpful official helped us beat the chaos in Guiyang by marching past all the hoards and grabbing us tickets. She didn't want bribing or anything.

Our 'hard seat' carriage en route from Guiyang to Chengdu, a 21 hour challenge. The carriage seats 130 folk, and this shot was taken early on. It is also possible, indeed positively popular, to buy the cheapest standing tickets, which get you on the train but no more. These floaters then mouch about the train hanging out whereever they can find some seat or floor space. By the time the train had been through a few stations there was little more room to be had, and overnight conditions predictably deteriorated. China shouts loudly about development, but this was third world train travel without question. It is a little suprising that the Chinese Authorities actually allow foreigners to travel on these trains as they are otherwise usually keen to prevent one from observing or experiencing the lower classes of society. An interesting experience.

The Panda breeding centre near Chengdu, China.

Bus trips. This one wasn't too bad as it goes, Vicki here demonstrating the virtue of bagging the highly desirable front seat. We had just been deposited by one bus apparently in the middle of nowhere (it turned out to be Diping, a suprisingly small village) to connect with another service to Zhoaxing. Whilst we were bust wondering what an earth we were doing this bus materialized and a gruff if helpful overweight Chinaman ushered us aboard. He predictably departed for lunch leaving us free to choose our seats on the concked out extended minbus. It transpired however that the bus was fine and it was only the crumbling, landslide affected switchbacking roads and suicidal drivers that we needed to worry about. Vikci obviously had a first class view of the impending doom that approached at every turn.

Delightful Zhoaxing, a small village that has blessedly retained its traditional wooden buildings. For that effort it gets to be a tourist attraction. This is the courtyard just outside our accomodation, which was brilliantly called 'Zhoaxing Dong Village Hostel For Foreign Toursits'.

This chap's car appreared to run on Sprite.

Wandering around Zhaoxing, central southern China. The covered bridge in the distance is all the rage in Zhoaxing. The men of the village like to sit under their coverings all day long whilst getting away from the wife and playing chess.

Zhoaxing, central southern China. The pointy thing in the village is an ancient Drum Tower, for anyone interested, one of five in the village.

Trekking around the Long Ji Rice Terraces, from Ping'an to Dhazai, central southern China. We got lost, and our 3 hour stroll turned into a 6 hour hike. Still, the scenery was wonderful.

En route from Ping'an to Dhazai. Lost, as it happens. Around the Long Ji Rice Terraces, central southern China.

Having arrived at the end of our hike from Ping'an to Dhazai, we were at least able to enjoy a cold beer whilst enjoying the spectacular views from our little hotel. The folk around here have been carving up the hillsides into amazing rice paddies for about 800 years, and appear mostly to still be going strong.

From just outside our hotel near Dhazai, Long Ji Rice Terraces, central southern China.

A Colourful if bumpy bus ride from Dhazai to Longsheng. Like community minibuses the world over, all manner of folk hop on and off gossipping away furiously the whole time. This particular bus, which was full in this picture, soon became seriously overcrowded, rather to the amusement of the women in the pink top who had already long secured a seat of sorts. We took a number of fairly arse breaking bus journeys around this bit of central southern China, checking out a variety of little towns and villages. Many of the roads are either rocky gravel tracks or, even worse, proper roads under construction.

A very old bridge over the Yulong River, near Yangshou, central southern China. The little bamboo rafts that can just be seen at the bottom are a tourist attraction that significantly detracts from the otherwise marvellous surrounds. This picture was the nicest bit about visiting the bridge as the rest of the time was spent fighting off the touts trying to get you to raft down the river.

Peace and quiet along the Yulong River, around Yangshou, central southern China.

A time consuming and presumably exhausting shopping experience, Yangshou, central southern China.

The Long Ji Rice Terraces, around Ping'an, near Longsheng, central southern China. Sometimes we find really nice places that we never knew existed.

Ping'an village, Long Ji Rice Terraces, central southern China.

The Li River, Yangshou, China.

Around Yangshou, central southern China.

Around Yangshou, central southern China.

Taking to the bikes around Yanshou. Here peddling along the Yulong River.

Cycling the trails along the Yulong River, around Yangshou, central southern China.