We didn't make any special non-railway trips in this area but along the way we saw a variety of interesting sights.
On the birding front, we saw these 'blackbirds' although they aren't blackbirds because they have a black beak and a greyish belly. I'll try to identify these when I get home. Other birds seen were easier to identify.
These birds on the wires are clearly drongos (a common drongo if there is such a bird). This is a blue magpie.
We also heard plenty of cicadas and even saw a man catching them with a small net on a long stick to feed to his chickens!
Although well camouflaged, they give themselves away with their noise.
Our stay in Nanpiao was in a pleasant hotel and bathhouse overlooking both a steam railway and the hills. Apart from a rather noisy main road outside, it was a pleasant place to spend a few days.
We saw two photogenic goats in one village near Jincheng.
We saw plenty of wild plants/weeds and this blue grass was common.
This wild plant looked like it should be in Stephanie's garden.
To finish here is a shot of a street market grabbed from a bus.
I'm not sure if I will be able to upload any more pages before I get back to the UK but there should eventually be a third general page to include walking on the Great Wall on a bit that has not been restored and which the normal tourists don't see.
John Raby
Jinzhou