Designed in China: Part Two The Travel Show


Designed in China: Part Two

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Now on BBC News it's time for the Travel Show.

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China offers the traveller more incredible natural landmarks

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than almost any country on earth.

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When it comes down to it, I guess all I can say is this

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is a mind-boggling extravaganza of geological history and formation

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and life all put together, and it's just incredible to believe

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that no one really knew about it until recently.

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The economic explosion in China has been well documented,

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but I'm on a mission to explore this huge country's natural terrain,

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largely unknown to the rest of the world - but not for long.

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I've already marvelled at one of the world's most enigmatic

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volcanic craters in the north-east of the country and experienced

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the epic remote beauty of its Gobi Desert in

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the north-west, bordering Mongolia.

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I'm right on the edge of this sand dune, I can't believe it.

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These are destinations that represent the next stage of China's

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breakneck development, and what is already clear to me

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is that as China's huge population outgrows its cities, so the demand

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for outdoor recreation booms.

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Domestic tourism is rising at a rapid rate and now it's a race

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against time to prepare and protect China's pristine landscapes.

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Gansu province, where China meets Eurasia, may be today one

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of the country's poorest regions, but it's also home to one

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of the world's geological miracles, the Rainbow Mountains.

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China's Technicolor version of the Grand Canyon.

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500 square kilometres of sandstone and minerals,

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the bedazzling colours were formed by water erosion.

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They were created during the same geological shift that

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formed the Himalayas, some 80 million years ago.

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As spectacular as the Rainbow Mountain range is, what's almost

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as incredible is that until the turn of the millennium hardly

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anybody in China, let alone the rest of the world,

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had even heard of it.

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And that is an unlikely story in itself, which begins

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at this man's house.

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One day a photographer passed by Mr Lei as he was carrying

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out his normal farmer's chores.

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So before then, no one recognised this was

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a beautiful, natural wonder?

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Soon, other photographers latched onto this undiscovered gem,

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and their photos caught the eye of famous film director Zhang Yimou.

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He shot a remake of the Coen Brothers' film Blood Simple

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here and its success in China made the mountains famous.

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Some of the props are still visible and Mr Lei himself was

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an extra in the movie.

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The area was awarded Unesco World Heritage

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status in 2010.

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Today, Mr Lei is a bit of a local celebrity and his house has been

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extended into a 40-room hotel.

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A museum has been built and a tourist complex

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is under construction.

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So can you describe your experience here in the mountains range?

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Not you!

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How proud are you of the way that China looks after

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its natural wonders?

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Has China always been good at looking after its environment?

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When it comes down to it, I guess all I can say is that this

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is a mind-boggling extravaganza of geological history

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and formation and life, all put together, and it's just

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incredible to believe that no one really knew about it until recently.

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This park opened in 2008 and has quickly become

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a big draw for tourists.

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From just 30,000 visitors a year in the beginning, in 2015,

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more than a million came here.

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With that growth in tourism, is there a threat to

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the environment here?

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These aren't the only astonishing rock formations here.

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But while the Rainbow Mountains were hardly known until recently,

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this place doesn't even appear in any guidebook I've seen.

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If the Rainbow Mountains range is all about the forces of nature

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creating a vivid palette of colours, then this this geo-site

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is all about amazing and sometimes lifelike shapes being created

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by those very same forces.

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Many of the formations bear uncanny resemblances to living

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beings and monuments.

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The Louvre Museum and an eagle's head, for example.

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This might be China's best kept secret at the moment,

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but it's only a matter of time before the world wakes up

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to this natural wonder.

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It's time to leave Gansu province and head to my next destination

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and the last leg of my tour.

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At least, that's what the plan is.

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The hazards of travelling within China.

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Actually, the hazards of travelling from any remote region

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to another remote region.

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Because of bad weather our plane was delayed from the first airport

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and we are now stuck here and we've missed the connecting flight,

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which means we're stranded here.

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So watch this space.

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Or rather, don't watch this space.

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And so on to China's western region and the edge of the Tibetan plateau.

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This is Sichuan province and here you'll find

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Jiuzhaigou National Park.

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The best-known features here are the dozens

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of multicoloured lakes.

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Indeed, there's an old saying which goes - once you've seen

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the waters of Jiuzhaigou, you don't have to see any other

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waters anywhere, ever.

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There's two things I notice once I arrived here at

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Jiuzhaigou airport.

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Firstly, it's bracingly chilly, and secondly, I'm short of breath.

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That's because the attitude here is 3500 metres

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above sea level.

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It's dizzyingly high.

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Onwards.

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The development of China's national park lands like these has been rapid

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over the last two decades.

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The area of all parks in China now covers nearly 17%

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of its total land mass.

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That's higher than in the USA.

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You've got to say as soon as you walk into this park

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and you see scenery like this, it's pretty magnificent.

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This bus system is pretty efficient and it has to be.

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Way back in 1984, when the park opened, there were only 5000 people

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visiting a year.

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Today, it is 2 million a year and up to 10,000 a day.

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In fact, the park puts a limit on the number

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of tourists coming in each day.

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Jiuzhaigou is named after the nine Tibetan villages of the valley

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and around 1000 Tibetan minority people live inside the park.

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Tourism has helped employ many.

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Park ranger Liang Feng being one.

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Do you think that the Tibetan attitude to nature is very important

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in helping this place be clean and healthy?

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The park has become an ideal holiday getaway for China's urban

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population, which now outnumbers its country dwellers.

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Do you think it's romantic here?

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Do you think it's romantic here?

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Yes.

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And some people aren't just content with visiting here.

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There's quite an interesting phenomenon going on at the moment

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which is against the general trend in China, whereby people

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are actually leaving the city to go and live in the countryside and I'm

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going to a hostel right now which was set up by three cousins

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who came here on holiday last year and decided they wanted

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to stay for good.

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This looks great, can you show me around?

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Li Ling isn't the only one who's noticed the commercial potential

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of Jiuzhaigou's pristine nature.

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Despite protective measures inside the park, rapid development

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outside has raised concerns about the environmental impact.

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I mean look at this place.

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This hotel complex has more than 1000 rooms and it resembles

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an aircraft hangar, it's so huge, and these shopping outlets

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are just everywhere.

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If you want a puffa jacket I suggest you come here.

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But I'm in search of a more authentic experience in Jiuzhaigou

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and one that gives me an insight into one of China's most famous

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and controversial minority cultures.

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If you want a really eco-conscious authentic experience,

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there are options.

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Right now we are in one of nine Tibetan villages here in the valley,

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and here we have an eco-lodge.

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Now, check this out.

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Lovely room, two nice beds, hot water.

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Look at that, plus heating.

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Very comfortable experience, and you can feel good about yourself

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too, doing it.

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Sink, and I've heard there's even Wi-Fi.

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What more could you want?

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This is a family business, with Tibetan origins.

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This woman's grandparents were born in Tibet, and her own life

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was going a familiar traditional path until this strong-willed woman

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decided she had other ideas.

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But she had other ambitions and told her cousin she didn't

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want to get married.

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She lived in Beijing for five years, working and studying.

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She returned home to Jiuzhaigou with a business idea.

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Her business acumen has provided her family with not just eco-homestays,

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but also a restaurant in town and a chance for tourists to learn

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about traditional cuisine.

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I'm making veggie soup, which I'm sure has got

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a proper Tibetan name, but I'm going to make that,

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and you guys, what are you making?

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I'm making yak meatballs.

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Yak meatballs.

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I'm doing some yak meat-based thing that's wrapped in tinfoil,

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from what I saw.

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Pretty good.

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And you?

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I'm doing a seasoned salad, it looks like.

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A seasoned salad.

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Nice.

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OK, so let's begin.

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After an hour of beavering away in the kitchen,

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we're ready for a taste.

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Wow, who made this?!

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We did.

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So tell us what each of these dishes that I know we made,

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what each of these dishes are?

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OK, so this vegetable and yak meat.

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That's potato and inside it has yak meat.

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This comes from the mountains, it's a very special Tibetan dish.

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Is there a traditional Tibetan ceremony or something that you say

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before people eat?

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Yes, we have tea, and we say it like this.

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"Chin chey, chin chey".

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Really?

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What does this mean?

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Very happy get-together, thank you and a few things,

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we are happy to get-together.

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Yes.

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ALL: Chin chey.

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Oh, and there is one other ceremony that she wants to show me.

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When it's drunk, I sing.

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We need one person drinking, so I can choose the person,

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so I choose you, OK?

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It's for good luck, she says.

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I'm not so sure, but she's my host, so what can I do?

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SHE SINGS A LIVELY SONG

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Thank you.

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SHE CONTINUES SINGING

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The hospitality was astonishing, the singing was brilliant,

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the food is lovely.

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The wine is good.

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Three glasses in a row is probably pushing me

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to the limit, but you know, let's just have fun.

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HE EXHALES

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Yeah, thanks - there's no point overdoing it, exaggerating it!

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It's likely that just as with every other place I've

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experienced in China, the number of people visiting

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here will continue to rise and that will pose challenges in balancing

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the innocence and authenticity of these regions against the forces

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of grand scale development and mass tourism.

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Certainly amongst the individuals I've met there's been a strong

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recognition that the country's natural assets have to be protected

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from the onslaught of big business, and I really, really

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hope their wisdom prevails.

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