1. I went to China - Yunnan Province - to visit the mining and metals operations of a Chinese client of ours - lead/zinc mines, smelters & refineries, as well as an aluminium refinery. So good they are scary.

2. I do not speak Mandarin, or putonghua as they call it. I have nice people who do holding my hand.

3. They are about 1.65-1.75 metres tall. I am 1.85 metres tall, so I normally beat them by four to eight inches

But the height thinggy is not good when they design for people under 1.70 metres tall. It is not good walking along a mine tunnel with a live bare electric cable at 1.80 metres next to your ear - they run trolley locomotives that have a thinggy sticking up to the wire to get the power.

Stunning place. Where I was it was about 8,500' up with scenery very similar to the northern hilly bits of the Austrian Alps between Vienna and Salzburg.

Food is another matter. I had stir-fried grass root. My Chinese hosts ate 99.99% of that dish

Also, as I get older, I get less tolerant of not being with people for whom English is not the language they think in. It was fine when I was your age, but now......a week is all I can handle. I imagine you have the same issue in Jena



John Maynard Keynes Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone

Patternweaver's fiancé
Denice
KRO
*bowtieless*

Guinness! Evolution!