<正>At the start of our new Journal of Biosafety, I was prompted by my Co-Editors-in-Chief, Professor Wan and Professor You, to provide regular reviews or updates on biosafety for our readers, given that I mostly reside outside China, and have many international connections. That is a very big task, and I was not sure that I could do it as the journal demands. However, I had thought that in a lighter way, I could attempt to present my thoughts on some issues that I feel are of importance today. China is very quickly opening to the world, economically, scientifically, and in many other fields, and for many colleagues inside and outside China, this is a new situation. During my career, I have worked in several countries of Europe, in New Zealand, and had projects on other continents. This gave me experiences in different parts of our globe, and I feel that all of us, ecologists, have to start thinking more widely, and be aware of developments, especially of human impacts, on faraway places. So my view when writing these essays will try to be both local and global. Therefore I have chosen the overall title for this series of essays "Thoughts of a travelling ecologist". Below you will be able to read the first one-I hope you will enjoy them. If you feel like to add, or comment on my essays, please feel free to do so. Any feedback will be most welcome.
