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This latest season takes viewers beyond the city‘s famous landmarks and into the countryside, where international travelers get their hands in the soil, learn traditional crafts and share everyday meals with local residents. Through these experiences, they discover a different side of rural China and the people who are helping shape its future.

Mountain pulse: A year-round outdoor playground

The mountains of Chongli in Zhangjiakou are more than the backdrop for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Once best known for their snow-covered slopes, they are increasingly becoming a year-round destination for outdoor activities.

“Winter is for skiing, but summer opens up a whole new world,” said a local outdoor guide.

Since the Winter Olympics, residents have been steadily unlocking the hills’ year-round potential: from mountain biking and trail running to hiking and camping. The mountains no longer fall dormant when the snow melts.

Julian and Juan pedal along forest trails, surrounded by mountain air and the scent of damp earth. At the Chongli 168 Ultra-Trail Race, they stand at the starting line as thousands of runners surge forward – a river of energy that sweeps up everyone watching.

For Juan, the scene strikes a familiar chord. “Mountains don’t have borders,” he said. “The urge to run and challenge yourself in the wild is something we share, whether in Latin America or here.”

Field-rooted well-being: Yoga that grew from the soil

Surrounded by farmland and an open sky, Yugouliang Village sits on a high plateau in northern Zhangjiakou. The village has gained attention for a distinctive form of outdoor yoga practiced among its fields. Unlike the wellness trends often associated with urban gyms and resorts, yoga here has grown naturally out of village life.

“Our yoga comes from farm work,” one villager explained. “It is part of how we live.” Between planting and harvesting, they stretch and breathe, finding stillness in the middle of open fields.

Julian and Juan first experienced another part of village life by making youmian, a local staple made from oats. They kneaded the dough and shaped it by hand, then headed into the fields, where they spread their mats on the earth and practiced yoga alongside local residents.

“This feels familiar,” Juan reflected. “No matter where we are, people want the same things – health, peace, security and a life that feels full.”

Yugouliang offers a different picture of rural China: not a place frozen in the past, but a community that has found its own rhythm and a new sense of well-being amid the fields.

Living heritage remains part of daily life

Located in the southern part of Zhangjiakou, Yuxian is known for its historic settlements, traditional architecture and folk arts. Its ancient buildings have also reached new audiences through popular culture. Some of its architecture has inspired locations in Black Myth: Wukong, the hit Chinese action role-playing game.

Yuxian paper-cutting is one of its best-known folk traditions. “Paper-cutting came from everyday people,” said a master of the craft. “It used to decorate farmhouse windows. Now it reaches the wider world.”

With that spirit in mind, Julian and Juan tried their hand at paper-cutting, fumbling with scissors to produce something far from perfect – but they feel, briefly, what it means to make art out of ordinary life. Here, heritage isn’t sealed behind glass. It’s passed from hand to hand, cut into paper and woven into the fabric of daily existence.

Where clean energy meets modern farming

If Yuxian’s ancient villages preserve the memories of the past, Desheng Village shows how rural communities are looking toward the future. Located in the highland farming region of northern Zhangjiakou, Desheng has embraced modern agriculture and solar power as part of its rural development.

Rows of solar panels stretch across the land, capturing sunlight that once only fed crops. Beneath them, modern greenhouses hum with temperature-controlled precision. It’s agriculture reimagined – and the benefits are tangible.

“We used to depend heavily on the weather,” one villager said “Now technology and sunlight give us new hope.”

Julian and Juan stepped into the greenhouses, picking ripe tomatoes and crisp cucumbers, tasting the sweetness of a harvest that no longer depends on luck. They saw how clean energy revenue flows back into the community – funding schools, roads and public spaces.

As night fell, they joined a bonfire gathering in the village square. Music, laughter and conversation filled the evening air. Around the fire, the visitors saw another side of rural development: a village changing with the times while maintaining the close-knit community spirit that has long defined local life.

More than a journey: Stories shaped by the land

For a new generation of travelers, immersive experiences are offering a more complete picture of rural China. In Zhangjiakou, the countryside is not defined by a single landscape or a single way of life. Chongli’s mountains pulse with year-round energy; Yugouliang’s fields offer a slower rhythm of life; Yuxian’s ancient villages keep traditional architecture and folk crafts alive; and Desheng shows how clean energy and modern agriculture can create new opportunities for rural communities.

Here, tradition and innovation coexist in the same villages, where ancient skills can find new audiences and modern technology can take root in centuries-old communities.

Every village has its own story. From mountain trails and open farmland to historic villages and modern greenhouses, Zhangjiakou reveals a northern Chinese countryside that is more diverse, dynamic and full of possibility than any single image can capture.

Visitors may come for the scenery. But by stepping into village life, they leave with something more lasting: a closer understanding of the people who live on this land, the traditions they carry forward and the future they are building together.

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The robot has begun operating at Kalangan, the art museum inside the Domestic Security Hold Area, marking the first phase of a wider plan to introduce robotic assistance across the airport. CIAL Managing Director S. Suhas inaugurated the service, which is intended to give passengers access to travel information while they move through the terminal.

Passengers can interact with the robot to check flight schedules, gate numbers and CIAL services. It can provide directions to boarding gates and other airport facilities, helping travellers locate destinations without having to rely solely on static signs or information counters.

CIAL has also given the robot a cultural role. At Kalangan, it can explain Kerala art forms including Kathakali and Ottanthullal and provide information about sculptures and artworks displayed in the museum. The robot can guide passengers towards relevant exhibits, linking travel assistance with the airport’s cultural displays.

The airport operator said passenger assistance robots will be deployed in check-in halls during the next phase of the programme. CIAL is also examining the use of delivery robots capable of carrying food and other products directly to passengers waiting inside the terminal, though no timetable has been announced for that service.

Pune-based Kinetics Robotics developed the passenger assistance robot for CIAL. Executive Director Santhosh Poovattil, Head of Commercial Manoj P. Joseph and Kinetics Robotics representative Jignesh Nair were among those present when the service was launched.

The project adds another automated passenger-facing service to CIAL’s broader digital upgrade. The airport last year outlined a Rs 200-crore digital transformation programme, CIAL 2.0, covering operational systems, artificial intelligence, automation and cybersecurity. That programme included upgraded flight information and announcement systems, common-use passenger processing infrastructure and other technology intended to improve airport operations and passenger convenience.

CIAL 2.0 also identified facial-recognition check-in, artificial intelligence-based baggage tracking, lost-item tracking, prepaid cab booking kiosks and DigiYatra integration among its digital services. The passenger assistance robot extends that technology drive into a visible, interactive role inside the terminal rather than keeping automation largely behind the scenes.

For passengers, the robot’s main practical value is immediate access to frequently requested information. Flight updates and gate directions can change during the course of a journey, and an interactive unit positioned within the secure area can supplement display boards and staffed help points. Its deployment at Kalangan also allows CIAL to test passenger interaction with the technology in a controlled setting before placing more robots in busier check-in areas.

The cultural information function gives the device a second purpose beyond navigation. Travellers passing through the museum can request explanations of traditional performances and displayed works rather than using the robot only for airport queries. CIAL has presented that combination as part of its effort to improve passenger convenience while drawing attention to Kerala’s cultural heritage.

The first deployment remains limited to the domestic security hold area, and CIAL has not disclosed how many passenger assistance robots will be added in the next stage. The airport operator has also not announced technical details such as supported languages, operating hours, mobility range or whether future units will have additional functions.

Kalangan serves as the initial location because it combines passenger circulation with exhibits that require both directional and informational support. The robot can therefore handle airport questions while directing visitors towards artworks and explaining selected cultural forms.

CIAL’s move comes as airports increasingly use self-service and automated systems for routine passenger interactions, particularly for check-in, baggage processing, navigation and information delivery. At Kochi, the next expansion will move the assistance robots from the museum setting into check-in halls, where passenger volumes and the range of queries are likely to be greater.

The product, unveiled at Global Fintech Fest 2026, combines machine-learning risk assessment, dynamic authentication and protection against eligible fraud chargebacks. PayU said the system evaluates cross-border card payments using transaction and behavioural signals, then determines how much authentication each payment requires.

Low-risk transactions can pass with less friction, while payments assessed as higher risk are routed through stronger authentication checks. The approach is intended to address a persistent problem in online commerce: controls that are too strict can reject legitimate customers, while weaker screening can expose merchants to fraud and chargeback losses.

PayU said merchants using the technology have recorded an improvement of about 4% to 5% in international card payment success rates while reducing fraud exposure. The figures are company data and were not independently audited in the announcement.

One online travel merchant using Fraud Liability Protect achieved a 14% rise in payment success rates and an 83% reduction in its fraud-to-sales ratio, according to PayU. The company did not identify that merchant or disclose the transaction volume, testing period or baseline behind those percentages.

Manas Mishra, chief product officer at PayU and Wibmo, said fraud controls should not undermine payment acceptance as merchants expand across markets. He said the product was designed to distinguish genuine and risky international transactions and to protect businesses against both human-initiated and AI-enabled fraud.

The liability element is significant because chargebacks can transfer the financial cost of disputed card transactions back to merchants. PayU’s own documentation describes a chargeback as a transaction reversal following a successful customer dispute. Under its fraud-liability programme, cases classified as covered fraud can be closed with PayU bearing the chargeback amount, subject to applicable terms and eligibility.

Fraud Liability Protect is integrated with PayU Checkout and is being positioned mainly for small and medium-sized businesses in travel, online travel agencies, airlines, e-commerce, quick commerce and food technology. These sectors can face direct revenue pressure when overseas cards are declined or fraudulent transactions later result in disputes.

Zomato is among the businesses using the service, PayU said. The food delivery platform is applying the system to international card transactions so lower-risk payments can proceed with fewer obstacles while higher-risk transactions remain subject to additional controls.

The product also seeks to reduce so-called false positives, where legitimate purchases are blocked because conventional controls treat them as suspicious. That can be especially costly for merchants serving customers abroad, where differences in card issuance, geography and spending behaviour may raise risk scores even when a transaction is genuine during automated screening.

The launch comes as payment providers increasingly use machine learning to balance fraud prevention with checkout conversion. Card-not-present payments create particular challenges because merchants cannot physically verify the card or cardholder, making transaction data, device information, behaviour patterns and authentication signals more important to risk decisions.

PayU already uses automated risk controls across its payment infrastructure. Its published security material says machine-learning models and real-time monitoring are used to identify potentially fraudulent transactions and abnormal patterns. The new service extends that approach by linking risk scoring directly with variable authentication and an explicit chargeback-protection layer for qualifying international card transactions.

PayU’s international payment gateway supports cards issued overseas and allows merchants to offer multiple currencies, while settlement to participating merchants is made in rupees under its terms. The company also offers 3-D Secure-based controls for international card processing, which are designed to add cardholder authentication when required.

The distinction between authentication and liability remains important. A transaction that passes authentication is not automatically immune from every dispute, and chargeback outcomes depend on card-network rules, reason codes and the conditions attached to the merchant’s payment arrangement. PayU’s documentation requires merchants to respond to chargeback notices within specified deadlines where a dispute requires documentation.

Addressing the BRICS Business Forum in New Delhi, Goyal said greater connectivity between national payment networks, including systems modelled on India’s Unified Payments Interface, could lower friction in cross-border commerce while supporting wider use of members’ own currencies.

His proposals were aligned with the economic agenda carried into the BRICS summit, where leaders backed further work on facilitating trade and investment settlements in local currencies and improving interoperability between payment systems. The approach stops short of creating a common BRICS currency and instead focuses on practical links between existing financial infrastructures.

BRICS leaders encouraged the New Development Bank to expand local-currency financing and diversify its funding base, complementing efforts to make cross-border payments faster, cheaper and safer. Officials have stressed that the objective is not a single currency, but greater use of national currencies where commercially practical and mutually agreed.

Goyal said UPI now handles more than 250 billion transactions annually and is accepted in 11 countries. He urged BRICS economies to explore linking their payment networks, promote trade in each other’s currencies and expand digital commerce alongside cooperation in emerging technologies.

The minister coupled the payments proposal with a call for easier market access. He said BRICS economies should open their markets to one another’s products, including raw materials and critical minerals, while simplifying regulatory procedures and accelerating the clearance of consignments.

Goyal argued that resilient supply chains required two-way trade rather than dependence on one-sided flows. He said non-tariff measures impose higher export costs than tariffs in 88 per cent of countries, making regulatory obstacles and customs delays a central concern for companies seeking to trade across BRICS markets.

The push comes as intra-BRICS commerce has expanded sharply. Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said trade among BRICS countries rose from $84 billion in 2003 to nearly $1.2 trillion in 2024, underscoring both the scale of the bloc’s market and the potential gains from reducing transaction and financing costs.

Agrawal also highlighted the global trade-finance gap, estimated at about $2.5 trillion, and said BRICS should improve access to affordable working capital for exporters. The Jaipur Consensus, agreed by BRICS trade ministers in August, provides a basis for examining a common mechanism to help smaller businesses obtain finance against confirmed orders and reliable payment records.

Trade ministers have also advanced a 2026-2030 action plan on global value chains, including BRICS Connect, business-to-business partnerships, digital trade documentation and possible platforms for strategic supply chains and investment promotion. These measures form part of a broader effort to make trade flows more diversified and less vulnerable to disruption.

Goyal identified agriculture, pharmaceuticals, engineering, electronics, automobiles, auto components and services as sectors with scope for deeper cooperation. He called for closer links between startup ecosystems and urged agri-tech companies to work jointly on solutions for farmers and food security.

Services trade was another priority. Goyal said BRICS members should make it easier for professionals to move across borders and work towards greater recognition of professional qualifications, arguing that services markets needed to become more genuinely accessible.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, speaking at the same forum, said supply-chain connectivity, trade facilitation and innovation had become central to BRICS cooperation. He also pointed to digital public infrastructure, artificial intelligence, financial technology and advanced manufacturing as areas offering opportunities alongside questions of standards, security and trust.

Russia’s Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov separately supported stronger alternative payment arrangements, saying the share of Russia’s export settlements conducted in dollars and euros had fallen sharply over the past three years. He also promoted work on a proposed BRICS grain exchange and closer cooperation among special economic zones.

The two leaders met on Saturday on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in New Delhi and welcomed what the Prime Minister’s Office described as steady progress in ties since their meeting in Tianjin in August 2025. They agreed that relations should be approached from a strategic and long-term perspective and that differences should not be allowed to become disputes.

Modi said peace and tranquillity in border areas remained an essential basis for further development of the relationship. He called for both sides to observe existing agreements and understandings on frontier issues and said engagement should be guided by “mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interest”.

Both leaders committed themselves to seeking a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement of the boundary question, while expanding cooperation in areas where their interests converge. They also backed stronger cultural exchanges, business links and mobility, alongside efforts to resolve economic frictions.

Trade featured prominently in the discussions. The two sides agreed on the need to address concerns over the structural trade imbalance, supply-chain issues and access to each other’s markets. Bilateral trade reached a record $155.6 billion in 2025, while India’s imports from China were about $132 billion, leaving a large deficit that New Delhi has repeatedly sought to narrow.

The meeting marked Xi’s first trip to India since 2019, when he travelled to Tamil Nadu for an informal summit with Modi. Relations deteriorated sharply after the 2020 military confrontation in eastern Ladakh, including the Galwan Valley clash that killed 20 soldiers from India and four from China.

A disengagement agreement reached in October 2024 helped end key points of the military standoff and opened the way for higher-level political contacts. Modi and Xi then held a substantive bilateral meeting during the BRICS summit in Kazan that month, followed by another meeting in Tianjin in August 2025.

Diplomatic and military mechanisms have since been revived. At the 25th round of Special Representatives’ talks in Beijing on August 25, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and China’s Wang Yi agreed on eight measures covering border management, military communication, boundary negotiations, trade routes, pilgrimage arrangements and cooperation on trans-border rivers.

Among those steps were two additional channels for military hotlines in the eastern and middle sectors and two additional meeting points for senior commanders. The two sides also agreed to continue work towards a framework for settling the boundary dispute and to use existing diplomatic and military channels to deal promptly with incidents along the Line of Actual Control.

Practical links have also begun returning. Direct passenger flights have resumed, business visa processing has improved and the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage has restarted, while three traditional border trading points have reopened. Those measures have not removed the deeper trust deficit, but they have restored channels that were largely frozen after 2020. Officials on both sides have indicated that further easing will depend on predictable border management and progress on commercial concerns over the coming months.

Despite the thaw, major differences remain. Large troop deployments continue along sections of the Himalayan frontier, and the boundary itself has not been settled. Economic engagement is also constrained by investment screening, regulatory barriers, visa delays and security concerns affecting sectors considered sensitive by either government.

Xi’s visit nevertheless gave both governments an opportunity to demonstrate that political contacts are becoming more regular after years of strained relations. Beijing has repeatedly said the two countries should view each other as partners rather than rivals, while New Delhi has maintained that normal relations require durable peace at the border.