Weishan old town is another grid patterned settlement at the centre of a modern metropolis with its canned music and bright shops. Today is Women’s Day. Two things happen around Weishan today. The first is that families, together, climb Weibaoshan Mountain just outside town. This has a collection of Taoist Temples dotted throughout the wooded climb to the top.

The other event is a food festival in Weishan’s old town. Once through North Gate it kicks off good and proper. The shops open out onto the street and stalls line the two main dragss that stretch from the four gates at each point of the compass. The smell and smoke from cooking fires, grilling and boiling anything from pigs to locusts to chicken feet, cover the streets with a sweet smelling haze which sets the hunger pangs off on a rollercoaster. Pancakes and sweets and dried fruits tantalize the taste buds. Enjoy the images and imagine the crowds  and the bustle and the smells.

Tomorrow a third event is held just outside town but more about that later.