Introduction

China is a confusing country. Having spent two and half years studying its language, literature, history, politics and culture I still often find myself more confused than when I started. "Land of Contradictions" is perhaps the most overused epithet that is strapped to this beguiling country. However, like most cliches it is overused for a reason: it is true.

China's economic figures over the last twenty years are breathtaking. The numbers are often so large as to be largely meaningless, figures that the brain can't truly fathom. Yet, as cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong take their places amongst the great metropolises of the world, China is also home to some of the poorest regions on the planet.

It is these regions, so often neglected by tourists and commentators alike, that I plan to visit on this trip. Over the 5,320km from Beijing to Kashgar a friend and I will ride our motorcycles through Inner Mongolia, Gansu and Xinjiang to the Kazakhstani border. All the way through the Middle Kingdom.

Here is where I will document my journey, and my interpretations of the things I see on the way. I hope that this is not seen as an exercise in vanity, I am little more qualified to comment on China than anyone else, but more as an honest attempt to understand this bewildering country.

Two guys, two motorcycles, and a road Through the Middle.