Happy Chinese New Year! Competition
Today is the day that everything Chinese should be proudly celebrated. I love the Chinese culture, food, lifestyle and language. I have never been to China but from many books I’ve read which are set there, I feel a deep affinity with the country. What perfect way to celebrate Chinese New Year than to look at two books set there, and enjoy a few Chinese goodies alongside them. There’s a little Chinese treasure trove to keep your trinkets in, a pair of lucky chopsticks and two pieces of Good Fortune. Two lanterns will guide you on your way in the days to come.
To enter just leave a comment on this page please and tell us where in China you would like to go to, or where you’ve been and was fantastic and we’ll feature you on a future article as well as put you in the hat to win the prize!
Robert Fortune was a real life Scottish plant hunter and botanist in Victorian England best known for introducing tea plants from China to India. He set off on a mission to steal secrets for the British Government and to take the tea plants. China at the height of the Opium Wars was a dark and dangerous time and this mix of fact and fiction evokes the setting well.
A girl torn from her family and taken to a courtesan house in Shanghai. Her life is one of servitude and pleasing men but she develops a strength and an independance that pushes her on to try and get justice for her and her family. The life – the struggles and the heartache of these girls is brought shockingly to life.