Timeline: 20th of February to 20th March 2005. After leaving India and travelling through Nepal, David Brown and Paula explore China. Pictures on this page by David Brown.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect of China.

I had high expectations but then I had high expectations of India. And having been disappointed once before, I was starting to notice alarming parallels between the two when doing some last minute cramming of the China guidebook.

Only the world's fourth largest country yet still the most populous nation, home to 1.3 billion, a number incomprehensible until you consider 1 in every 5 people on this earth are Chinese. Almost all of these people live in the east. 'Population' and 'Density' sprung to mind but having endured and survived Mumbai's CST station at rush hour I felt somewhat reassured.

We flew into Shanghai, the one time heart of European Imperialism in the east and now engine room of the fastest economic expansion the world has ever seen.

Shanghai is both trendsetter and pace setter for China as a whole and this change is noticeable in all major towns and cities. Construction cranes dot every city skyline, brown field sites are becoming building sites, countless modern bus and train stations have been built, and those which are not new have been completely overhauled. Office complexes and shopping malls are ubiquitous. The drive for modernization, even westernization, is rapidly underway.

The economy is expected to surpass Japan's in 2015 and that of the US by 2040. And every week, 1.25 million more people acquire a mobile phone.

The downside to this juggernaut of progress is a cavalier and heavy-handed approach to the environment that would make even George Bush squirm. The scale of the problem reflects the size of the country. In the eastern plains there remains almost no land untouched by human interference. The exploding population has put the land under immense strain, in parts even beyond sustainable usage. This ecological time bomb is exacerbated by reckless political decisions, the most notable of these being the Three Gorges Dam along the Yangzi river.

The dam, when complete in 2009, will be the largest of its kind in the world, creating a lake 670km (416miles) long and is expected to generate 10% of China's energy needs.

Unfortunately, this lake will force the relocation of millions of people, the destruction of countless historical sites and the upset of a finely balanced and extensive ecosystem.

In addition, it has since been discovered that corruption between construction and government officials has resulted in a shortfall of billions of Yuan and the subsequent use of inferior building materials which has already required extensive repairs. If this isn't enough it has been calculated by the government itself that the dam will silt up after 70 years.

But this is China after all, full steam ahead!

With the Yangzi still being very much a working river we took a three day ferry ride from Chonqing to Yi Chang to enjoy the scenery before it's submerged beneath 100m of water; grand, imposing, majestic and, in places, remarkably similar to Scotland. There even appeared to be a hint of purple off the hills suggesting heather. Along the route, villages were reminded of their impending fate with water level markers (right) the size of billboards erected amongst the houses.

It's impossible not to feel sympathetic for it's the people rather than the country that you notice first in China.

Despite a reputation in the West as being stern, aggressive and unfriendly, I found them, on the whole, to be the opposite of these stereotypes. They are extremely helpful, approachable, and warm and they'll try hard to speak English even if they have no knowledge of the language whatsoever - which is endearing, if a little time consuming. Outwith a core of young and educated, English is simply not spoken, or understood.

However! They hawk and spit relentlessly, and do so with impunity. They will do so, without warning, in the street, in lifts, in taxis, in restaurants, everywhere and anywhere and it is widely regarded as completely normal behaviour! As a result of this favourite pastime there is currently a frenetic poster campaign underway in Beijing which the Government hopes will eradicate the problem before the world comes to visit for the 2008 Olympics.

Another trait, endemic throughout the entire country, is the desire of the vast majority of men to chain smoke like they can't catch cancer quick enough. As with the spitting, they light up wherever and whenever they wish.

Our route took us in a large anti-clockwise circle. From Shanghai we travelled to Nanjing -- capital of China prior to Beijing -- and then north to Beijing. Where Shanghai was a mix of impressive colonial architecture juxtaposed with the most modern skyscrapers, Beijing was an endless procession of Stalinist apartment blocks and motorway flyovers. It was also suffering its coldest February in 17 years, which made it all seem so much bleaker.

This cold weather presented us with a surprise on a day trip out of Beijing to the Great Wall at Simatai when we were greeted with the remains of snow along the entire stretch of wall. Unfortunately, it does not appear this serene landscape will endure much longer. Plans are already well underway for mass tourism. Souvenir shops, cafes, and a guest house have been constructed and a ski lift up to the Wall is almost complete -- all this at one of the least exploited stretches.

We continued our loop travelling way out west where the women spit like cowboys and the men fashion themselves on the Blues Brothers. Ill-fitting dark suits complete with white socks and black shoes are the order of the day, but without the shades. This makes them no less welcoming or friendly.

Train, and indeed bus, travel throughout the country is safe, clean, comfortable and efficient. And despite being reminded at every turn that China is the Peoples country, the embodiment of a true Socialist society, train travel is divided into no fewer than four classes!

Chairman Mao believed that struggle was part of existence and in our existence in China we had our own struggle: Food. The Chinese regard meat as a delicacy, a sign of wealth, to not eat meat is to have a deficiency in your diet. Although pointing out, in Mandarin, in our phrasebook that we would like our food "Cooked without animal stock", to include "No meat" and quite bluntly "Vegetarian" we were provided time and again with bowls of noodles or rice topped with beef, chicken and fish. When the problem was finally identified it was not uncommon to be walked through a kitchen and asked to point at what you would like.

The Chinese will eat any meat. Any animal no matter how big, small, tough, chewy or cute is eaten. The streets are lined with stalls selling every animal and every part of it you may possibly want. There is even a chain of shops specialising in Bambi. They have a stuffed one in the window in case you doubt the sign!