China on a BookTrail…
Happy Chinese New Year! It’s the perfect time to delve into your bookshelves and visit the library to find some books set across the vast and varied land that is China.. Here are the lucky eight picks for a Chinese themed read:
Midnight in Peking
Based on a real life murder in 1930 Bejing when the city was still known as Peking….a murder of a diplomat’s daughter which was to have consequences for al but which was largely overshadowed by the onset of war
Flat Stanley – The Flying Chinese Wonders
A fun way to celebrate the New Year for kids big and small – Stanley accidentally causes twin acrobats Yin and Yang to take a tumble, right before their Chinese New Year show. So, to save the day, Flat Stanley takes his place. A circus filled celebration of the skill of Chinese acrobats.
Do Not Say We Have Nothing
A woman who fled China in the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square protests tells her story..
The Secret Mandarin
China at the time of the Opium Wars was a world stage set full of intrigue. The British are regarded as the enemy having ‘won’ the recent war. Based on the true story of Robert Fortune, a Scottish plant hunter and botanist who dares to enter the country to steal its secrets…
The Rose of Tibet
A filmmaker is reported dead near Mount Everest, his brother Charles Houston refuses to believe that’s the case and so decides to go over to Tibet in order to look for him and to discover the truth. This is a hard journey in many ways however as Tibet is not the most welcoming of countries – a forbidden one to outsiders and so he must take extreme care whilst there. The danger is about to get worse for the Chinese army are coming…. This book looks at the Chinese invasion of Tibet.
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
I love this book. A story about the language of Nü Shu – this is a kind of secret language and the way in which the women learn it and take such pride in this communication and cultural skill is lovely to read and a fascinating look at language and what it stands for.
Sea Cat Simon
China through the eyes of a cat? The Happy cat is a popular Chinese symbol so this should be on your list!
Turn Left at the Mountain
And finally – If you get lost amidst the long list of books you can read in China – just turn left at the mountain and you’ll be fine
More Books set in China here : China on a BookTrail
