Achangeinaccommodation

　　AttheendofMao'sreignin1979therewerejustthreetouristhotelsinBeijing.Nowthereareover325,andallofagoodstandard,sodon'tworryaboutthequality.Thebighotelsevenoffer'inroom'traditionalChinesemassage,fromabout£25anhour.

　　BeijingistheidealbasefromwhichtovisittheGreatWallofChinaatMutianyu,anhourandahalfaway.Theoriginalsectionswerebuiltsome2000yearsagotokeepoutmaraudingarmies.Itssizeisstaggering.Thewallisalmost3000mileslong,andmanypeoplethinkit'stheonlyman-madestructurethatcanbeseenfromspace-butthishasbeendispelledasamyth.Anditcanbepeacefultoo,especiallyifyouvisitinOctoberasCraigdid.Onewordofwarning,thehawkersonthewayupanddownthewallareverypersistent.

　　FromtheculturalcapitalofBeijing,CraigtookatwohourflighttoShanghai,thecommercialcentre.

　　ShanghaiismoreManhattanthanyoumightexpect:thespiritofentrepreneurialismisevidenteverywhere.It'shardtobelievethatit'sonlyamatterofyearssincethiswasfarmland.Intheshadowsofallthetowerblocks,you'llfindaChinawherelifecontinuesasithasforhundredsofyears.

　　Atthebirdandflowermarketthere'smorethanafewsurprises,someofwhichyoumaynotbeentirelycomfortablewith,suchasbirdsintinycagesandcaterpillarscrawlingoutoftheircocoons.

　　MakesureyouknowthenameofyourhotelinChinese,andwritealistofalltheplacesyouwanttovisit,thengetthemtranslatedintoEnglish,asthiswillhelpyounavigatethecity.

　　Bynight,thecontrastbetweenthetraditionalandmodernisevenmorebreathtaking.Shanghaihadadecadentreputationinthe1930s,andnowthecityhasre-locateditsdancingshoes-frommodernbarstotraditionalshows,Shanghaioffersitall.

　　Afurthertwohourflight,andCraigwasintheruraltownofGuilin.HefloateddowntheLiriver,soakinguptherelaxingscenery.It'snotentirelypeacefulhowever,astherealityisthataboutaquarterofamillionpeopleayearnowwanttofloatdownthisriver,andtheChinesearecopingbyintroducingluxuryviewingbargeswhichyousharewithupto150others.

　　Lunchisprovidedonboard,butit'sworthrememberingthatthereisverylittlechoiceonofferhereifyoudon'tlikeChinesefood.

　　Themainproduceoftheareaisrice,butduringtheeveningsyoucanwatchthesomewhatunorthodoxpracticeofcormorantfishing,andworkingdisplaysareputonfortouristsrightinthecentreoftown.

　　Then,justafter7am,whenCraigthoughthe'dseeneverything,hecameacrossapavementfullofballroom-dancingpensioners...apparentlyacommonpractice,justbecauseit'sfun.