My trip to China was the first of my big trips to exotic destinations. Since I was there in 1992 things have changed quite a bit, or so I'm told by people who have visited more recently
In spite of all the travelling that I've done since China remains one of the most fascinating, varied and above all alien cultures I have ever visited. I'd love to go back and see first hand how much it has changed, although I'm not sure all the changes will have been for the better.

The people of Beijing, especially the children, love having their photographs taken. The picture on the right was intended to be of Mao's Mausoleum but the kids just kept on getting in front of the camera and in the end I gave up and photographed them instead.

Beijing is full of marvelous buildings that somehow managed to survive the destruction of the 'cultural revolution' - surely the most misnamed event in history. Above and bottom left are both from the Temple of Heaven, top and middle left are the Forbidden City, the historic residence of the Emperors. Once it could mean death to raise your eyes and look at the outside wall. Nowadays, in spite of the pictures, it teems with tourists. Below is a stone boat at the Summer Palace.

Somewhere else that teems with people is the Great Wall at Badaling. This was quite probably the least effective defensive fortification ever built but as a tourist attraction it does a fine job. You can get a stamped certificate to say you have been there, take pictures of both the real and the 'pretend' soldiers and have your picture taken with the mangiest most moth eaten camel ever to walk the Earth.

When you visit China you are shown carefully selected highlights by your guide. Xi-An is actually a fairly grim industrial town full of chemical plants and heavy industry. You wouldn't know it from the picture though - the only photo stop on our bus tour of the city.

When we were in Beijing we went to the'opera' which looked like Max Wall performing Aladin and sounded like someone strangling cats in an alley full of dustbins. I overcame my reluctance and went to see another cultural show in Xi-An and to my astonishment found it to be a wonderful, colourful and musical experience. If you ever go don't let the Beijing Opera put you off.

Ok, I know that purists would say that lighting the caves at Guilin with coloured lights is cheating, that they should be left looking like caves but I disagree. The colours and the reflections in the limestone caverns are spectacular.

The area around Guilin is also one of the most beautiful in China. It is the China of the imagination. Oxen pull carts along dusty tracks while peasants in Coolie hats toil in the rice paddies. It's a popular holiday destination among the Chinese themselves and once you have been there you can see why.

Shanghai is a city of startling contrasts. The night view was taken from the top floor restaurant of the Jin-Jiang Tower hotel.

While by day it varies within a mile from the crowded streets of a modern city to the sedate gardens and temples of the old town...