China for the New Year (1): introduction
Top of my bucket list is the wish – so long as I have reasonable health and adequate wealth – to have visited as many countries as my age. I am currently 69 and I have visited 71 countries.
Outside of Europe and the United States, it is unusual for me to visit a country more than once, but today I start my fourth trip to China. The previous ones were in 2000 (an organised tour), 2001 (a professional trip), and 2010 (a visit with my Chinese ‘family’ who live in Oxford). This latest visit is again with my Chinese ‘family’ – mother Hua and son Joshua (almost 11) – and timed to enable us to celebrate the Chinese New Year in China.
I’m not sure how much access I will have to the Internet and Facebook on this trip but, if I can, on a regular basis I’ll post text to my blog NightHawk and photos to my Facebook page.
Meanwhile you might like to check out accounts on my website of my first visit and my third visit. I think these observations are a good short overview of the country and the people.