Or at least the road is an improvement.

We tried a bit more expressway.

Just like expressways anywhere. Higher speeds, infrequent junctions, and bridges.

This was a bit of a search, but we weren't sure what for or who by.

We weren't searched.

The railway line is on the other side.

Presumably the main Chengdu Kunming line as we are headed towards Chengdu in Sichuan.

We hoped we got it right and drove over it.

Like red earth anywhere it can be stunning in the right light.

For us it was dull and overcast.

A patchwork of different greens among the red background.

We needed the exercise, our map wasn't very good, but there were some Chinese photographers there before us.

The area is at an altitude of about 2900 m.

The mountains in the distance are on the other side of the valley with the expressway.

Hazy because of low cloud and the pollution we are beginning to see more of.

potatoes.

White and purple.

Ate at their restaurant.

Apologies were offered for not having new potatoes, only old ones. For some reason we were surprised at the thought.

Presumably the climate at 2900m and the soil are good for gourmet potatoes.

We had fried potatoes as one of the veggies with our meal. Tasted good with some spices on them.