Will we lament how green were our valleys

My mood turned sour as I trudged along the rugged mountain path in Yunnan province last week. I even started to regret my decision to travel there for a holiday.

The journey was hard - an 18-kilometer trek through dense forest to a secluded Tibetan village, Yubeng, at the foot of the snow-capped Meili Mountain. My heart was pounding wildly, my feet were leaden and I was gasping for air on the high altitude.

But what upset me was not physical strain - I had actually asked for it to test my strength and will to the limit - nor the muddy and swampy road after days of heavy rain, not even the putrid smell from years of accumulated excrement of horses and donkeys that carry provisions for villagers living in the depths of forests on the mountain.