Kung Fu at Wu Wei Monastery, Dali, China.

"Ah-Me-To-Fo! Ah-Me-To-Fo!" The gong goes at 5am and the chanting of the monks begins the day up in the hills at Wu Wei Monastery.

As the sun rises at 7am we're up and jogging, returning only once we've found a suitably large stone to balance on our heads. A hearty spicy noodle breakfast is wolfed down and by 9am we are stretching our creaking limbs to breaking point.

Only then do we commence Kung Fu. The palm-punch combinations build in speed and complexity through the morning and end with our rather feeble attempts at spinning round-house kicks. It is all non-contact, we should stress!

After the exertions, our stomachs are rumbling well before the lunch gong at 12 noon. A polite scramble ensues over a delicious vegetarian feast, sometimes joined by the local community who bring food offerings for the monks.

It's now free-time and we sneak off to doze in the sunshine and compare our aches and pains. At 4pm we drag ourselves back to fling our bodies around in the afternoon session. Our 12 year old monk teacher is still going strong but by 6pm we are flagging.

Dinner is followed by candle-lit chat to the backdrop of evening prayers. By 9pm we are ready to brave the mice and crash into our spartan beds.

For two weeks over Christmas 2009, this was our life.

(Unfortunately photography of the monks was not allowed.)

Kung Fu Masterclass (video clip)

Lumfe shows us how it's done...

Kung Fu Beginners' Class (video clip)

A week of training and we attempt our Kung Fu Christmas message.

Fishing with Cormorants, Dali, China.

Fishing with cormorants is an ancient and revered skill in China and we jumped at the chance to give it a go. Well, Phil did.

It's an eleven-strong team of the wife rowing, the husband showing off and the nine birds diving, catching and squabbling for chunky fish. With resounding success.

Phil had a blast. Sam enjoyed lunch.

Shaxi, Yunnan, China.

The small town of Shaxi has long been prosperous from the ancient trade between Tibet and China, primarily in tea and horses. Many of the original buildings remain, un-gentrified and utterly charming. Also surviving intact is the 1000 year old Shibao Si. A complex of caves and grottoes adorned with intricate carvings of Buddhist imagery created by the Bai people. As if this genuine cultural find wasn't enough to dazzle, a troupe of rare golden hair monkeys was on hand to entertain us as we explored the nooks and crannies of one of our favourite places in China.

Tiger Leaping Gorge, Yunnan, China

Tiger Leaping Gorge is an iconic hike for backpackers in South-West China. Being contrary, we did it back to front and with full packs. We took our time but proved fit enough to navigate the perilous ledges carved into the cliffs. The scenery is as severe as it is impressive. The Yangtze river cuts into the land to form a dramatic rift, with peaks rising 2000 metres above the rapids.

A Naxi Wedding, Lijiang, Yunnan, China

Our time in the tourist mecca of Lijiang was dominated by the irrepressible Mama Naxi. The Naxi people are a proud ethnic minority known for their traditionally matriarchal society, and the dynamic mama runs a legendary hostel. She invited all her guests to her son's wedding.

The happy couple greeted us with gifts of sweets for the ladies and cigarettes for the gentlemen, all served on beds of lettuce.

The whole community was invited so we ate quickly at one of several sittings. Over-sized stork costumes, an apparently stoned dongba priest and a dead hog in a ribbon quietly rotting in the corner - it was all a peculiar affair.

Afterwards there was plenty of time for guests to relax over smoky games of Chinese chess and mahjong.