First morning. The quiet tranquility from my room and countryside so familiar. 2019. [Photo by Bruce Connolly/chinadaily.com.cn]

Two weeks ago on approach into my Scottish home city of Glasgow I looked down on a landscape so familiar, despite more than four years of absence. Most road patterns, the villages, towns, the farmland reminded me of my earlier days cycling, driving or walking across that very green terrain. However, there were some noticeable changes including less high-rise residential buildings. During the 1970's Glasgow boasted the tallest domestic structure in Europe, incorporating housing units rented out by the city authorities. With population decline and for a multitude of social reasons such blocks have steadily been removed and replaced with low-rise units - land pressure is not so intense as in Chinese cities.