As illustrated by the collapse of the magnificent antique citadel at Bam, the largest sun dried bricks (adobe) building in the world and a World Heritage Site, during the devastating earthquake that struck this ancient Iranian city, cultural heritage sites themselves are threatened by earthquake destruction.

UNESCO: Tales set in Stone: learning from ancient earthquakes

This route takes you through some stunning scenery including the Unesco World Heritage site Huangshan, ancient villages in Anhui and the charming canal towns of Suzhou.

BBC: Travel in Asia during monsoon season

In previous years he found between 79 and 32 - an average of 42 - at the ancient woodland site but this year he found none.

BBC: Purple hairstreak butterfly numbers hit by wet weather