Home to several great rivers, the western part of China has a variety of ecosystems and abundant biodiversity, making it essential for maintaining both domestic and global ecological security. The region is also rich in mineral reserves that make a huge contribution to national economic development....

XI'AN: Tobias Masefield, 50, travelled all the way from Britain to China, not to see the Great Wall, Forbidden City of Chinese culture - but steam engines in Tongchuan, a city in Shaanxi Province."It took me 10 hours flying from London to Beijing, 12 hours by train from Beijing to Xi'an, and then th...