PLEASURES of a SMALL TOWN

At 4:15 am, I wake up automatically thanks to two years of training by my cat, and find myself awake in bed facing a window through which I can see a wide stream.

The wide stream, which is called Daxi in Chinese, is the trunk stream in the middle part of the Oujiang River, the second longest river in East China's Zhejiang province.

Beijing, where I come from, is already rather hot and dry in mid-June. And I am yearning for a relaxing holiday in a quiet place with mountains and rivers.