Conversations in a log cabin at Wuxu Hai

I spent a pleasant if rather knee-breaking afternoon with this chap, called Yao, in his house at Wuxu Hai. We sat there chatting over a cup of butter tea about China and Australia and Joseph Rock. His uncle, Yao senior, dropped in to pass the time of day. He was the village leader and seemed very clued up about world events. He scolded me for being British and having forced unequal treaties on China in the 19th century! When I told him I now lived in Australia he said he had seen it on TV ["as good as visiting"] and thought it looked like a nice place. But he wouldn't want to live there.
He also told me that George Bush was "contributing to a negative trend in international relations". So much for getting away from it all!