From the calligrapher’s advertising wall at Jiayuguan. This is at the 1300 year old first fort on the Great Wall. It is in the desert a couple of thousand kilometres from Beijing. All over the countryside here, preserved by the arid climate, long lengths of the original mud brick Great Wall from the 4-5 century still snake their way across the desert. We travelled all this area slowly, with backpacks, on local buses 26 years ago. It has leaped about a century since then, has Western China. Astonishing changes.