Over the past six weeks China Daily reporter D J Clark has been walking the Beijing waterways, discovering five unique day walks that have taken him to all four corners of the city. In the last of seven videos Clark talks to the author of “Beijing’s Forgotten Waterways” and shares some of his discoveries.

Since the 11th century in Beijing, dynastic emperors built moats to defend their city walls, and it is a loop of these waterways that makes up the last of the five walks in this series. Once again it is Kublai Khan and his grand architect Gou Shoujing that we have to thank for building the moats, most of which still stand today in various states of repair. In part six of Walking the Beijing Waterways, D J Clark takes off along the Yuan dynasty circuit.

In part five of Walking the Beijing Waterways, D J Clark starts near the international exhibition center where the Bahe river spills out into the northern moats and heads 12 km east out beyond the 5th ring road to where the river meets the second airport express way. Of all the walks this one takes him the furthest from the city center and in doing so he passes through urban and increasingly rural communities.

In part four of Walking the Beijing Waterways, D J Clark starts where the last walk finished, at the entrance to Yuyuantan Park under the old CCTV Tower in the far west of the city. It's the longest of the five walks at 26 km and takes a full day to complete. Divided into two sections, the first follows the Yongding River to where it meets the city moats of the Qing Dynasty and follows them in a horse shoe around to the Beijing Railway Station where it meets the Tonghui canal. The second section follows the water east towards the Grand Canal.

In part three of Walking the Beijing waterways, D J Clark takes off on a 13 km western walk that is broadly divided into two halves. The first is a pleasant stroll through the vast grounds of the Summer Palace and around the Kunming Lake. The second consists a long straight walk south along the wide Jingmi Canal which sits below the busy western edge of the city.

In part two of Walking the Beijing Waterways, D J Clark takes off on a central route that loops around a series of lakes and moats which takes him into the heart of the city and the walls of the Forbidden City.

Often the best way to explore a new city is by foot and Beijing is no exception. Although the city gets a lot of bad press for it’s high levels of pollution, it also has clear days and a lot of parks and paths to explore. In this video China Daily reporter D J Clark introduces five different one day walks using the myriad of canals, rivers and lakes to guide him away from the traffic and discover areas of the city few visitors get to experience.

Kesha is from a small village in Nepal’s western hills. She continues her traditional proffession of tailoring. She is a widely respected community leader in her district of Parbat and also advocates for rural entrepreneurs at the national level.

Chitrakali comes from the Magar community in the western hills. She

has taken her traditional skills in collecting and weaving wild

Himalayan stinging nettle, and turning the "allo" fibres into a

multitude of products. She now provides indirect employment to

hundreds of women in her district. She is a highly successful

entrepreneur and community leader.

Devaki is from the hills in Nuwarkot, north of Kathmandu. Born into

the highest Brahmin caste, her family lost all that they had during a

major flood. She now lives on a small piece of land, where she leads a

workshop and cooperative, weaving Nepal’s traditional "dhaka" cloth.