:00:00. > :00:07.Now on BBC News, it's time for the Travel Show.
:00:08. > :00:15.When it comes to eager, bolder and while the, China offers the
:00:16. > :00:21.traveller more incredible landmark than most countries. -- bigger. You
:00:22. > :00:27.go to some places around the world and they are supposed to be an --
:00:28. > :00:34.amazing and they are average. Here we really feel it is raw - you and
:00:35. > :00:47.the elements. And frankly this is quite an astonishing place to be.
:00:48. > :00:51.Never in human history has there been such rapid change as in China,
:00:52. > :00:57.with its so-called economic miracle. But duds at -- double-digit growth
:00:58. > :01:04.in the world's the largest and most populous country has come at a cost.
:01:05. > :01:08.Dust storms, industrial waste and carbon emissions are all taking
:01:09. > :01:13.their toll. The smog filled mega metropolises of China are forcing an
:01:14. > :01:24.exodus of those who can afford to leave and foreign tourism is falling
:01:25. > :01:33.in cities like Beijing. But there is so much more to China than it is
:01:34. > :01:38.ever-changing cities. And that's what I want to explore. In this two
:01:39. > :01:43.parts special and travelling across China discovering some of the most
:01:44. > :01:47.beautiful and unblemished landscapes in the world and I am starting my
:01:48. > :01:53.journey at the country's most iconic site.
:01:54. > :02:05.The great Wall of China. What a feat of ingenuity and human endeavour. It
:02:06. > :02:11.is more than 20,000 kilometres long and I suspect a lot of people toiled
:02:12. > :02:19.and suffered to make of this. Welcome to the Great Wall! Now the
:02:20. > :02:28.wall is witness to a very different test of endurance. This man is a
:02:29. > :02:35.plumbing contractor by day and he's about to run the notoriously
:02:36. > :03:08.demanding Great Wall Marathon. Today he is on the record.
:03:09. > :03:15.I tell you what, this is no ordinary marathon. You've got these super --
:03:16. > :03:21.you've got to be superfit to do one of these. Of course China's most
:03:22. > :03:23.famous landmark is man-made, but what is best well known is China's
:03:24. > :04:09.treasure trove of natural wonders. And when the actual event begins its
:04:10. > :04:19.not long before competitors feel the heat and hit the wall in more ways
:04:20. > :04:25.than one. But these people are part of a growing trend in China, people
:04:26. > :04:29.who can and want to explore their natural environment. The great out
:04:30. > :04:34.yours is becoming an essential voyage of discovery. -- great
:04:35. > :04:39.outdoors. And that's my mission. I am en route to explore some of the
:04:40. > :04:47.most precious and threatens landscapes that up until now have
:04:48. > :04:51.stood the test of time. Before you decide to explore China there's one
:04:52. > :04:57.thing you've got to take into account and that is the sheer scale
:04:58. > :05:01.of the place. A mean, this is supposed to be a small airport in a
:05:02. > :05:06.satellite city just outside Beijing. But look at the size of the place.
:05:07. > :05:14.It's massive and right now I'm going to get the hell out of the smoke and
:05:15. > :05:20.go to my first promote location. Two hours from the plane -- by plane
:05:21. > :05:24.from Beijing and you are in this province, home to the biggest nature
:05:25. > :05:32.reserve in all China. And some of the dentist would land you will ever
:05:33. > :05:35.encounter. Nice weather, that average is warm. I think it gets
:05:36. > :05:40.colder when you go up towards the mountains and we are heading
:05:41. > :05:47.north-east towards the border with North Korea. There is one of the
:05:48. > :05:52.world's most amazing natural wonders I've been told. It takes just a
:05:53. > :06:00.stroll down the main thoroughfare to see the billions of yuan being
:06:01. > :06:04.invested here. This place is definitely geared towards the
:06:05. > :06:12.country's new elite, as well as foreigners. People in search of
:06:13. > :06:16.clean air holidays. This is a symbol of what they are calling the new
:06:17. > :06:20.Chinese dream, a prosperous nation of consumers and leisure seekers.
:06:21. > :06:24.This famous resort has only been going a few years and is still under
:06:25. > :06:28.construction. It is geared towards skiing and outdoor activities. It is
:06:29. > :06:38.somewhat resembles a theme park, but I'll tell you what, it's a heck of
:06:39. > :06:51.an investment. But this is the star attraction. Heaven Lake, nestling
:06:52. > :06:53.inside a volcanic crater. It is nearly 400 metres deep and locally
:06:54. > :07:02.it is seen as holding mysterious mythical and spiritual powers. It is
:07:03. > :07:06.important to the Chinese but also the Koreans. That's North Korea just
:07:07. > :07:12.over there and it is seen as the ancient birthplace of the Korean
:07:13. > :07:16.nation. It is just astonishing. Most visitors here are South Korean,
:07:17. > :07:22.eager to lay eyes on the place of their ancestral origin. And North
:07:23. > :07:27.Korean propaganda claims that former leader Kim Jong Il was born on a
:07:28. > :07:34.mountain and on his death the ice of the lake cracked loudly.
:07:35. > :08:00.This woman is a local journalist who works for the Chinese government.
:08:01. > :08:03.I know there are lots of myths and legends about this place. What are
:08:04. > :08:20.they? And one other thing, they reckon the
:08:21. > :08:48.volcano could erupt at any time. Mind you, I'm not sure if I'd like
:08:49. > :08:54.to be hanging around all day in this climate. It can get to nearly -45
:08:55. > :09:00.degrees in midwinter. But before I go there is one local speciality
:09:01. > :09:07.I've got to try. So we have eggs here. These are hot springs here?
:09:08. > :09:15.And these are the eggs. Wow! And I can either these now? Right, it is
:09:16. > :09:22.try it. But the Daisy! Shall we do that again? -- oopsie daisy. My
:09:23. > :09:33.second try is a bit more of a success. It tastes like a normal X
:09:34. > :09:37.and the shell caseloads normal shell. But the much talked about
:09:38. > :09:41.magical properties of nature are good for more than just cooking eggs
:09:42. > :09:51.and corn here. Somewhat remarkably 70% of the world's output of plant
:09:52. > :09:56.that claims to have special properties is made up of this plan.
:09:57. > :10:03.Ginseng. I am going to that makes an awful lot of it. -- this plant.
:10:04. > :10:09.China was the first country to discover, cultivate and processed
:10:10. > :10:11.ginseng for medical reasons. This woman has been growing at since she
:10:12. > :10:39.was a teenager. Why has this earlier got most of the
:10:40. > :11:11.world's ginseng? How much ginseng do you have
:11:12. > :11:47.everyday? She brings me a cup of ginseng tea.
:11:48. > :11:51.That is actually quite refreshing. Let's see if it actually changes me
:11:52. > :11:53.in some way, not that I'm expecting it to be some kind of magic elixir,
:11:54. > :12:05.but you never know. Growing ginseng is a slow process.
:12:06. > :12:11.It can take up to 30 years to nurture one plant. I have just
:12:12. > :12:21.dropped the cheap stuff, which is fine, but I have just found out that
:12:22. > :12:26.this one plant alone is worth 250 US dollars, which is incredible --
:12:27. > :12:30.drunk. Yes, it is 31 years old and is more precious, but nonetheless,
:12:31. > :12:39.just that, 250 US dollars! Incredible. The nature reserve is
:12:40. > :12:45.about 2000 square kilometres in size with more than 80 kinds of tree.
:12:46. > :12:51.There are over 40 threatened species here, including links, the lipid,
:12:52. > :12:56.and the Siberian tiger. -- the links and the leopard. And joining a daily
:12:57. > :13:01.conversation patrolled the books after daily feeding stations like
:13:02. > :13:08.this one for bugbears and stops people from picking endangered
:13:09. > :13:16.plants -- looks after. I'm doing my bit. Might not be my finest work,
:13:17. > :13:22.but the patrol continues. Suddenly the team spots something suspicious.
:13:23. > :13:38.Follow, follow, follow. It looks like this guy has been
:13:39. > :13:42.stopped for doing something possibly that he should not be doing, and
:13:43. > :13:49.they will question him now. They will searching, actually. -- search
:13:50. > :13:55.him. He is caught with a sack of wild vegetables. Kicking them he is
:13:56. > :13:56.illegal and the man is taken to the conservation Station for a possible
:13:57. > :14:18.fine -- picking them here. I guess when you see it in action,
:14:19. > :14:23.you kind of realise for a lot of people, this is the only form of
:14:24. > :14:29.living they can make, and when it comes to situations like this I help
:14:30. > :14:35.but feel sorry. But if you are in the conservation business, you have
:14:36. > :14:39.to enforce the rules. It is time for me to leave the province and
:14:40. > :14:44.continue my trip. Out in the sticks, you are still at the mercy of
:14:45. > :14:49.man-made pitfalls. So we have a major situation. The car has
:14:50. > :14:54.seriously working down. We are basically in the middle of nowhere,
:14:55. > :14:59.and miles away from the airport we have to get to get back to Beijing
:15:00. > :15:06.today in order to on with a trip -- broken down. This is one of the
:15:07. > :15:09.hazards of working way out in the countryside, and I have seriously no
:15:10. > :15:17.idea what will happen now. The driver is definitely nervous. The
:15:18. > :15:25.car seems unable to pick up any speed. OK. We are going downhill
:15:26. > :15:31.now, which helps. A little bit more smoothly, you never know. But our
:15:32. > :15:36.driver is still on the phone to base to work out what the mechanical
:15:37. > :15:41.fault could be. But as smooth running is short lived. We have run
:15:42. > :15:50.out of downhill gradient and are now going uphill, and we are making very
:15:51. > :15:59.slow progress. Do they have automobile rescue systems here? No,
:16:00. > :16:03.they don't, I am told. The future of our trip slightly hangs on this
:16:04. > :16:16.situation. Then the driver has an original idea.
:16:17. > :16:26.So is this a makeshift Jack? I don't know what is happening here. He is
:16:27. > :16:35.bashing something with a log. Have we made progress by doing that? It
:16:36. > :16:42.is OK? That smog may have done the trick. -- log. The driver tells me
:16:43. > :16:48.there was a problem with the fuel tank and using the log activated the
:16:49. > :16:56.reserve tank. All I know is we are moving smoothly again. That is the
:16:57. > :17:01.end of my trip to the province, and it has been my first real groups of
:17:02. > :17:05.rural China. What is interesting is from the splendour of the volcanic
:17:06. > :17:10.crater, to the forestry and the fields down here, you are seeing
:17:11. > :17:14.something interesting developing as tourism comes more focused here on
:17:15. > :17:18.the countryside. I could see a tension in the future between people
:17:19. > :17:27.who make everything here and the desire to conserve this land. --A
:17:28. > :17:31.living here. My next destination is the north-west of the country
:17:32. > :17:37.ordering on my golly, and is one of the poorest and most remote regions
:17:38. > :17:48.of China, but with an illustrious past -- ordering Mongolia.
:17:49. > :17:55.This city was a major trading post on the legendary silk Road, which
:17:56. > :17:59.connected China with the West. But it was not just goods being swapped,
:18:00. > :18:04.it was culture, ideas and people. And today they want to revive that
:18:05. > :18:12.magic and bring more people over and put this region back on the map.
:18:13. > :18:15.Tourism numbers here are on the rise, above the national average,
:18:16. > :18:19.and this is one reason why they think will grow even faster. About
:18:20. > :18:28.20 kilometres east of the city is this does apart. 20% of China's
:18:29. > :18:33.landmass is desert -- Desert Park. We are in one of the world's most
:18:34. > :18:43.famous. Up until now, there was not much use for this when, and tourism
:18:44. > :18:48.came along with other ideas -- land. The Desert Park is 27 square
:18:49. > :18:54.kilometres of soft sand and heavy jeans, and this is a taste of the
:18:55. > :19:04.fun and games they are planning here -- dunes. A wave surfing galley, but
:19:05. > :19:19.if you want something edgier, there is this. We're going up the hill.
:19:20. > :19:30.And now we are going around. Wow! Turning again. And a right turn!
:19:31. > :19:34.Wow! Well, that was incredible. This guy is a real expert and we are
:19:35. > :19:39.going right by the side of the tops of inclines, and I think we will
:19:40. > :19:44.fall, but we don't. It is very scary. But I'm in the hands of a
:19:45. > :19:49.good driver, and that is the best I can hope for. But it is frightening.
:19:50. > :19:56.Daniel is a local investor who has big plans for the area. This place
:19:57. > :20:03.was always unique, but now it has been a centre for entertainment for
:20:04. > :20:10.local people. People meet on summer days and enjoy the barbecue and do
:20:11. > :20:15.some family activities. So a tourist will come into the gates here, and
:20:16. > :20:22.what will happen? At the very beginning, this is just empty sand.
:20:23. > :20:28.If it is just that, this place is nothing. But with these cars, you
:20:29. > :20:36.can enjoy driving the cars and try different activities to be closer
:20:37. > :20:44.with nature. Nature doesn't just mean forest and water, it also means
:20:45. > :20:47.this desert. Daniel is confident that the growing Chinese middle
:20:48. > :20:52.class will look to escape the cities and explore the country's nature
:20:53. > :20:57.more. What kind of tourists can you imagine coming here? All tourists,
:20:58. > :21:01.actually everyone. When you get it, you will enjoy a different life. I
:21:02. > :21:11.think it is kind of an Enlightenment to your own life.
:21:12. > :21:18.As I reached the end of the first leg of the journey around China's
:21:19. > :21:25.natural wonders, I am realising a lot is resting on new ventures. To
:21:26. > :21:29.help the economy as well as personal well-being, people here are being
:21:30. > :21:37.encouraged to travel far and try something new. Next time, I journey
:21:38. > :21:39.further into Chinese countryside and find out how tradition and tourism
:21:40. > :21:49.can live side-by-side. And I come across this place, not
:21:50. > :21:55.mentioned in any guidebook I have ever read. But before I leave here,
:21:56. > :22:03.there is one thing I just have to do. Yet! Are you ready for this? --
:22:04. > :22:10.Yeah!. LAUGHTER
:22:11. > :22:14.. That was actually... I was looking at him driving and thinking this is
:22:15. > :22:20.scary, now I think I can do anything. I can go over the steep
:22:21. > :22:24.inclines, the drops, everything. It probably isn't a good idea, but it
:22:25. > :22:29.feels so comfortable and easy. I will do it again!