One for the Road – China: Adventures of the Treasure Fleet

by Kelly Amabile on

As a sidebar to this month’s Chinese Buffet series, throughout August, One for the Road will highlight travel guides, reference books and other recommended reads related to life or travel in China.

Ryan’s home is full of books — about dinosaurs, superheros, America and China. This is one I’d like to get for him when he returns to the US: Adventures of the Treasure Fleet – China Discovers the New World is a unique historical fiction title for kids. Released earlier this year by Tuttle Publishing, it is beautifully illustrated with the colorful detailed drawings of Lak-Khee Tay-Audouard.

Treasure Fleet is the story of seven epic voyages taken by Admiral Zheng He, who led more than 300 brightly painted ships across the South China Sea, to the Indian Ocean and further on to the coast of Africa. The events that occur during the voyages actually took place between 1405 and 1433. The author, Ann Martin Bowler, used diaries of actual crew members as primary sources. Both the stories and photos are full of fantasy and fun — and should surely inspire explorers of all ages to set out on voyages of their own. I hope it will inspire Ryan and other kids to keep on traveling…always!

One for the Road – China: Living Abroad in China

by Kelly Amabile on

As a sidebar to this month’s Chinese Buffet series, throughout August, One for the Road will highlight travel guides, reference books and other recommended reads related to life or travel in China.

If you and your family are considering a relocation to Shanghai or any other Chinese city, be sure to check out Moon’s guide to Living Abroad in China. The book is written by Stuart and Barbara Strother, who first visited China while studying abroad in the early 1990’s. They later returned with their twins in tow and spent several years living and working in Shanghai. Although now based in California, the Strothers still visit China and lead a summer study abroad program there for US business majors.

This handy guide is broken down into three main sections. The first portion focuses on daily life: moving with kids and/or pets, health, finance and employment issues. It is then followed by a section highlighting prime living locations, organized by province. And then there’s a helpful reference section at the rear, with all the nuts and bolts stuff that parents or single adults will want to know before making a move.

One for the Road – China: Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

by Kelly Amabile on

As a sidebar to this month’s Chinese Buffet series, throughout August, One for the Road will highlight travel guides, reference books and other recommended reads related to life or travel in China.

Did I mention that I read an entire book while on the train from Beijing to Shanghai? While browsing at the Foreign Language Bookstore on Wangfujing Dajie in Beijing, I came across a copy of Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. Since my backpack was already overloaded with guidebooks, I really had no business buying another book, but this tiny paperback was whispering to me. After I learned that the plot revolved around a secret trunk of forbidden books, I knew I had to have it.

The tale begins in the summer of 1968, when two boys, both sons of doctors, are sent to a “re-education camp” during the height of Mao’s Cultural Revolution. The story revolves around their friendship, the beautiful little seamstress and a mysterious collection of Western classics, hidden in a suitcase in the home of their friend “Four Eyes”. Anyone with a passion for literature will probably find this historical novel to be a quick and enjoyable read. (It’s perfect reading material for an all day train trip through China too!) Written by Dai Sijie, a Chinese filmmaker who has lived in France since 1984, a movie version of the book opened the Cannes Film Festival in 2002.

One for the Road – China: A Traveller’s History of China

by Kelly Amabile on

As a sidebar to this month’s Chinese Buffet series, throughout August, One for the Road will highlight travel guides, reference books and other recommended reads related to life or travel in China.

These days it seems as if everyone has written a book about the current (and rapidly changing) state of affairs in China. There is no shortage of titles to choose from. I chose Oracle Bones to read before my departure for the PRC, but then looked for a basic historical overview to gain further background about the country. Again, the options seem endless. So I went with the one that seemed most suitable for me: A Traveller’s History of China from Interlink Books (4th edition, 2006).

This mini-textbook provides a suitable introduction to the country’s history, politics, culture and geography. Author Stephen G. Haw has written a straightforward summary of the origins of Chinese civilization straight through to talk of Taiwan, Hong Kong and the future. Any book that can succinctly squash “two million years of history into 300 pages” should be applauded — and since this one is slanted slightly towards travelers intending to visit China, it’s an excellent title to consider. The index includes a list of all dynasties, chronology of major historical events and an explanation of Chinese characters.

One for the Road – China: Time Out Beijing

by Kelly Amabile on

As a sidebar to this month’s Chinese Buffet series, throughout August, One for the Road will highlight travel guides, reference books and other recommended reads related to life or travel in China.

Time Out’s new city guide to Beijing was published in late June, right before I left for China. I was lucky to get hold of a copy just days before my departure. I’ve read Time Out’s magazines before, but this was the first trip during which I used one of their guidebooks.

I wasn’t sure what to expect, since I’m not familiar with their city guide format. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself turning to Time Out Beijing at least once every day during my trip. And I think I carried it with me almost every day too, since it’s so lightweight. The color maps in the back are not that great, and I wish they had Chinese translations for all the entries. But the content is good, and includes side bars with valuable tidbits about food, business, history and trends. I like how they break out the sightseeing chapter into different sections for each geographical neighborhood. That made it easy to flip through when I found myself lost somewhere, in search of something to do :)

It’s a stylish, pretty guide with color photos that provides an excellent overview to the city. Check it out if you’re headed to Beijing soon — the info is all fairly current, since it was published recently.