South Africa

Singapore & Malaysia

Japan

Hong Kong & Macau

:: China

Tibet & Nepal

Myanmar

Australia

New-Zealand

Tahiti

Easter Island

Chile

Bolivia & Peru

Argentina

Rice fields: a marvellous landscape

We discover an astonishing rice field landscape in the small town of Dali : green plots of land, fields full of water, large ponds between a lake and the mountain, where the rice waits to be harvested.

We spend a few days in Ping'an where we discover gorgeous terraced rice fields. The village nestles in the mountains; wooden houses follow one another in the heights.

We could spend hours walking on the stone-paved paths, watching the terraces from the top of the hills, observing these plots shaped like huge stairs made for the steps of a giant, a large staircase leading to a small village hidden by clouds…

North-west region: not China anymore, almost Central Asia.

Imagine a city in the middle of nowhere, with sand-coloured houses and a red and orange desert landscape.

Imagine a market like an ancient fair, an exotic bazaar where people from the whole region gather every week, to sell fruits and vegetables, donkeys and sheep, dry fruits and spices.

Imagine a happy and noisy atmosphere, carts and cars, buses and motorbikes, tractors and taxis all trying to go through in the narrow streets.

Imagine dusty lanes, where each house is home to a small shop, from the baker to the barber, from the dentist to the butcher.

Everyone works on the pavement: on wood, metal or leather, all art crafts create a melody lasting all day.

You are in Kashgar, on the Silk Road, not far from Kirghizstan and Tajikistan, a city which looks like no other, far from the usual Chinese cities.

You are already in Central Asia here. People speak Uyghur instead of Chinese, go to the mosque instead of the temple, and the gastronomy is a marvel, really different to what can be tasted in the rest of China: a delight of breads, spices, braised sheep and sticky rice with honey.