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Hello today.

Extreme cyclists dice with death on Columbia's mountain roads.

The common culture and challenges of the indigenous people of the Arctic, and

our correspondent says farewell after a tumultuous term in Turkey. But first, cash machines may soon become a thing of the past in China, with

digital payments taking over in many of the country's major cities. Whether you're buying a

coffee or paying for a taxi, it's all paid for through

a smartphone. But this can leave the occasional visitor caught out as our correspondent

Celia Hatton discovered. And it made her wonder whether this new cashless society

is really about convenience or control.

A few weeks ago I found myself stranded in the center of Beijing, a city I lived in for 14 years,

and a place I still consider home, even during a short summer visit.

My problem? I had cash in my pocket,

but I couldn't use it to pay for any available form of transport.

It was a hot, smoggy night, and I was stuck. It was one of my first nights back and I had received

a last minute invitation to meet some old friends at a restaurant that was impossibly far away.

But taxis were always available, I reasoned, even in rush hour.

45 minutes later, I discovered a hard truth. Taxis that accepted cash had all but disappeared.

I spotted fashionable types sliding into air-conditioned cars

that had clearly been summoned with a mobile phone.

With a mounting sense of dread I realized I couldn't do the same. I no longer had a

Chinese bank account and that meant I couldn't use my phone to pay for anything.

...