लेखक: Ian Mote

I have always loved to travel. Right from the time I went around the world as a baby in my parents’ arms, travelling has been in my blood. As I grew older, I started looking at longer-term trips away from home. Aged 18, I took the obligatory gap year, experiencing a life in America which I had only before seen on television or in films. It made me realise that maybe there was more out there in the world to understand, see, and be a part of. I went to Hong Kong for the first time in 1990 and then again in 1995. The 1995 trip also featured my first tentative steps onto mainland Chinese soil. Despite a bad case of food poisoning spoiling my view somewhat, even then I found China fascinating. What a different world from suburban London. In 2002 I moved permanently to Hong Kong and lived there for four frenetic years. That time included regular trips into all different parts of China, and from those trips, these stories started. I had an intermission from China when I moved to Dubai in 2006, but in late 2008 I took the opportunity to return to Asia to live in Shanghai, where I live to this day. This book is about what I have found there. I continue to be on a journey of exploration through one of the most historic, dynamic, and fascinating countries in the world. I hope that my journey will continue for some time, and I thank you for joining me for the story so far.