Apologies for the long break between updates. On Saturday I headed to Wuhan, then overland by van to Jingzhou in Hubei province along with my boss Ogilvy/WPP China Chairman TB Song, to be torch bearers in the Olympic Torch Relay. We were both selected by Lenovo (of which Ogilvy is global agency of record). It was a terrific honor to be selected, and I’m incredibly impressed with how well organized the whole things was. It went without a hitch, and though it was over in no time at all (so much for the training I’d been doing), it was a memory that will doubtless last a lifetime. Plus I’m now proud owner of one very cool Lenovo-designed oficial Olympic torch. Wonder how much that sucker would fetch on eBay? Kidding, kidding.

The turnout and the level of enthusiasm was absolutely amazing. People lined the long run route, and on the bus on the way there I even saw people holding up signs with my name in both English and Chinese — doubtless, they were avid readers of this blog. Every other person, it seemed, was wearing a T-shirt that said “I Love China,” or emblazoned with some other patriotic motto. Everywhere it was smiles and pride — enough to melt the heart of a even a cynical bastard like me.

Jingzhou’s one of those thousands of undiscovered cities in China with a real wealth of historical and cultural treasures. As a big fan of the Romance o the Three Kingdoms since boyhood, I’d long known the name of the place: the book’s great heroes, Liu Bei and his sworn brother Lord Guan and Zhang Fei, ruled the place briefly, and Lord Guan is credited with having built it. The city’s wall is still intact — rebuilt during the early Qing dynasty in 1645, it’s a really impressive crenelated structure that’s two meters thick and I’d reckon five meters or more in height. I also spent a couple of hours at the Jingzhou Museum, which features some amazing Shang, Zhou, and Warring States period ceremonial bronze vessels; many bronze weapons from the Spring & Autum and Warring States period; and some lovely pottery pieces. Well worth a visit for any Chinese history buff.

I’ll try to post something related to technology and marketing in the next day; then I’m off to Silicon Valley to meet with some VCs and some companies I’m advising, and I’ll be sure to fire off a post or two from there.