Bruce Chatwin and Dr Ho

By Jonathan Chatwin
The road ran unrelenting in front of me, straighter than it had any right to be in such mountainous country. Flanking the even stretch of tarmac were almost-finished apartment compounds. Their billboards offered the promise of community, yet the plazas and pathways were empty save for a few shabbily dressed security guards. Eventually, the buildings gave out and the valley floor stretched wide to the feet of the surrounding hills. Ahead of me, the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain loomed, its heights obscured by falling cloud.
On the surface of the narrow lanes leading away from th...