My first CCTV China Insight show - The People of Ningxia

The sky takes on a softer, clearer blue in Ningxia and this together with the lush green farmland is somehow soothing on the eyes. Don’t forget the pollution free air, which tastes clean and crisp especially first thing in the morning when the sun is flickering on the horizon. It’s pretty quiet too – coming from Beijing, it is a novelty to be able to hear yourself think.Ningxia is a breath-taking placeLearning to play the Hui harp - a lot harder than it looksGetting a lesson in Hui martial arts - it's kick onlyA t the end of the day, it’s the people that etch the magic memory in your mind. The sunny smiles of the Hui people thawed my cold heart and their awesome hospitality gave me a more healthy, rounded appearance. Yes, I put on few a pounds traveling around Ningxia. I think it was all the lamb that I couldn’t stop eating. Or maybe it was roujiamuo or the other myriad local delights that I was offered. I did try and counter the big eating by drinking loads of babao tea. It has 8 different ingredients and I’m told it’s so healthy that it’ll make you live longer. Well, we’ll just have to wait and see about that.Making some new friendsMy best memory was at this prominent Muslim leaders tomb. He died about 70 years ago and every year Hui come from far and wide to celebrate the life of this great man. Anyway, we were there to film it. And by and by, this 12 year-old girl latched onto our group and before I knew it she was holding my hand and dragging me around pretty much making sure I didn’t make a fool of myself. At the end, I gave her some chocolates and the first thing she said was that there were too many and tried to give some back. I told her to keep them because I had more. And then she immediately gave one of them to her friend. Little moments like these give me a whole new faith in the human race.Commemorating the death of a Muslim leaderNingxia will offer you a whole new perspective on China. Sometimes you feel as though you’re in the Middle East or some other Muslim place. Make sure you go hungry because there’s a lot of great hospitality coupled with good food.Kids being awesome