Srinagar, Feb. 28 -- This is, to me, one of the most appealing aspects of Xizhou: here history is not yet an inert object of consumption; it will not tamely submit itself to plans and projects. The village's past is rich and deep and has the resources to push back.

I asked Brian about the difficulties that he himself had had to face: Were licences difficult to get? Did palms have to be greased?

Brian's answer startled me. 'No,' he said. 'I would say this part of it was easier than in the States. I used to run a gallery in Wisconsin and it took years to get licences there. The building codes and other regulations made it impossible for the small guy to succeed. It's like politics in the US -you have to be rich to get ahead. It was differ...