Wednesday 05 December, 2001
China's forgotten regions
Notes from a northern journey
In China's three north-eastern provinces and Inner Mongolia, Francis Markus reports for East Asia Today off the beaten track. His journey takes him to Genghis Khan's tomb to examine the competing Mongol and Chinese nationalisms; to the barren mountains where wind power could be the energy source of the future; to Harbin, where the railway built by the Czarist government has welded the destinies of China and Russia together and to Changchun with its palace of the last emperor Pu Yi, where sensitivity about China's image is acute.
Click on for a journey to China's forgotten regions...
In Inner Mongolia, the desert is closing in on towns and cities. But what is to blame for the stark, blasted lanscape: climate change or changing patterns of agriculture?
A report from a wind farm which seeks to harness the forces of nature battering one of China's most desolate regions.
A trip to the mausoleum erected to honour Ghengis Khan: but was he Mongolian or Chinese?
A report on the modern face China wants to show the world - even in Changchun, where steam trains still operate.
Amid the mish-mash of decaying state-owned industries and drab apartment blocks, one city has made "quality of life" its new imperative. Francis visits Dalian, to see if green spaces and cleaner streets have really made a difference.
Harbin lies on the rail link between Russia and China and was once home to refugees fleeing the Bolshevik revolution. Francis stops off in Harbin to get a feel for its Russian past.
|
 |
|
