China: In Search of the Past: Part 7: Shanghai, More of the Four Olds and the Very Very New + South Korea: Poetry in the Rain

The Bund is Shanghai’s famed waterfront, once part of the city’s International Settlement–territory the Western powers took from China after the mid-19C Opium Wars, waged by Britain in the name of free trade. In its heyday, the city was known as the Paris of the East, and, especially after the Russian Revolution, it was a refuge … Read more

China: In Search of the Past: Part 6: Chongqing: From WW2 to Today

 Qianximen Bridge, Chongqing Research for my book has led me deep into Chinese and WW2 history During that period, Japan occupied the prosperous coastal ports, so the Nationalist government moved inland to Chungking, now known as Chongqing. Critical American supplies—including dollars and gold—were flown into Kunming from India. The mountainous road between the two cities was … Read more

China: In Search of the Past: Part 5: Kunming, World War 2

After flying cross-country to Dali, we’re eager for our “slow” train through Yunnan’s scenic mountains down to Kunming. But soon after arriving at the station, we are ordered to evacuate, due to “equipment problems.” Everyone, even support personnel, is driven out while police and security officers pour in. With no further explanation, we all stand around, trading rumors—many translated to me by … Read more

China: In Search of the Past: Part 4: The Four Olds, From Coastal Hunan to Mountainous Yunnan

Eternal Audrey at Changsha Airport newsstand After many detours, it’s back to China. We’ve been heading north from the Vietnam border of Guangxi Province to Hunan Province—still in the south yet far from the rural, traditional countryside we’ve been traversing. It’s a shock arriving at the huge railway station of capital Changsha. Hunan is the birthplace of … Read more

China: In Search of the Past: Part 3: Guilin/Yangzhou

We leave Nanning’s pristine train station and after a spectacular two hours of Guangxi Province scenery reach Guilin. Guilin is revered in China for its winding Li River and sculptural limestone mountains—an eternally popular subject for Chinese poets. However, coming from Guangxi’s deep-deep south, I know these staggeringly beautiful mountains exist throughout the region and down to Vietnam. As far … Read more

China: In Search of the Past: Part 2: Nanning and Vietnam border

Detian Waterfalls From Hong Kong, it’s a short flight to Nanning, capital of Guangxi Province in China’s deep south. During the French colonial era in Indochina, their railway connected Vietnam with Nanning and Kunming, which we’ll visit later. When I ask about visiting the old part of town, the hotel clerk gives me only a blank look. … Read more

China: In Search of the Past: Part 1: Hong Kong

  I avoid red-eyes like the plague, but  there we were, off for Hong Kong, only hours after my 23-year-old daughter and her second-graders finished the countdown to summer break! Eighteen months ago, we’d traveled to India and Sri Lanka for my WW2 research. Now to continue in China.   Around dawn Sunday, approaching the glamorous “new” … Read more

In Search of the Past: Part 13: Mysore: Princely Palaces and the End of the Road

Still thrilled about the tiger we sighted in the Mudumalai Reserve, we leave for the former princely state of Mysore. En route, we see prize buffaloes being bathed in milk for Pongol, South India’s “Thanksgiving” celebration. Our first stop is the 18C summer palace of the “Tiger of Mysore”—Tipu Sultan, who ruled much of South India … Read more

In Search of the Past: Part 12: Mudumalai National Park: Tigers!

Tiger Reserve entrance, Mudumalai website We set off from Ooty at dawn, eyes peeled for elephants and other wild creatures known to roam the roadside. We head further uphill amid foggy greenery, following the narrow winding road through the Nilgiri—Blue—Mountains and down toward the plains.  36-hairpin turns later (!), we near the  Mudumalai—Land of Ancient … Read more