The day started at 9:00 a.m., which doesn't sound too bad, except for the fact that we arrived in town only six hours earlier. There were only 10 minutes between getting out of bed and getting on air. But that's how it is on the road. If the rest of the team can do it, so can I. And I'm glad I did. 

Within an hour, we were in the oilfields of northeastern China, with drilling machines kow-towing into the ground. But this isn't Texas. No J. R. Ewing here. This is an oilfield with Chinese characteristics.  

Reeds swayed in the breeze and birds dived into lakes as we set up on a rickety old pier to do a live-cross on Global Watch. The oil executives gave us lunch and told me I was welcome here any time.

Our next stop was Harbin, an incredible city with mixed heritage. We strolled down the streets, looking at Russian architecture and admiring European shops. I felt like I was in London.   

We had dinner in an amazing Russian restaurant. Erica Pitzi, fresh for her leg of the tour, joined us. We drank vodka and wine, ate Russian patties and soup, and laughed with the locals. We didn't speak the same language, but who needs words when you can make music by hitting a chopstick against a beer bottle. Before long, we were singing and laughing and I was experiencing yet another warm Chinese welcome.

As the vodka flowed, I gushed to my co-host and told him I was proud. I did the same to the restaurant owners and proposed endless toasts to China. And then we staggered home. The next morning, my job was done. The bus left without me, and I made my way back to Beijing. Cui Hui'ao had a new co-host, a prettier one, and the crew had bigger fish to fry. 

And as my plane took to the Harbin sky, I smiled fondly at the memories: Buying gifts for my mother on the Russian border; entering on a horse during a live show in Inner Mongolia, only to discover we'd confused the timings and my co-host was interviewing a government official; staring in horror as the Mongolians produced a whole roast lamb, complete with head; trying to sleep in the back of the bus while the crew taught me rude words in Chinese.

As I headed back to Beijing, I couldn't help but shed a tear. You forge strong friendship at times like these. You create memories too. These were indeed the best of times. And the best of friends.

(Cover: The live show in Hulun Buir, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, with Jeff on horseback. /CGTN Photo)