Leaving Lanzhou we headed eastwards towards Xian. On the way we stopped at a very pleasant rough camp by a damn where those of us who were keen took a day's wander up to the Taoist temples that sat atop the adjacent hills (those of us who were not took the cable-car). There we whiled away a very pleasant day exploring the heights of the mountains, the temples and appreciating the clean air and the stunning views.. The next day was once again on the road this time our destination Xian.

The road from Lanzhou to Xian once again passes though some stunning country. High steep mountains neatly terraced to maximise available space for agriculture lends a tamed, manicured look to the landscape, which, whilst not wild, is certainly very beautiful. Unfortunately, it would seem the Chinese are determined to enhance their beautiful natural landscape with an array of astonishingly ugly industrial installations. The sight of monstrous, smoke belching carbuncles nestling amongst idyllic mountain scenery is common-place, and gives the impression that a high-tech cancer is infecting the landscape. Combine this with China's climate, which does not apparently act to disperse the fall-out, and you have an air-quality nightmare. There is no doubt that industrial China is moving fast. Really fast. Everywhere you look there is development, investment and activity on a scale and at a rate that would leave western countries winded. The rapid progress is no doubt a result of the lack of political opposition here. There is quite literally nothing standing in their way. Unfortunately, in their haste they appear to be paying little attention to the landscape or the environment. There is no doubt that China has potential to be the next big economic power of the world, but it is also fairly clear that it has the potential to be the next big environmental disaster too. It will be, at the very least, interesting to see which way it goes.