Press Features
China
Beijing: Forbidden Cixi rediscoverd
Sunday Telegraph 17 March 2008, James Owen
James Owen's research into the final days of imperial China led him to Beijing where he caught tantalising glimpses of the last empress.
One-way ticket to Tibet
Daily Telegraph 9 October 2006, Andrew Hildebrand
Headaches aside, Andrew Hildebrand marvels at the pioneering spirit of the route from Beijing to Lhasa… my tour operator, CTS Horizons, has been exceptional. The adventure continues as I board the train at Beijing's packed Xi Zhan Station.
China tease
Daily Telegraph 14 December 2004, Sarah Shuckburgh
In the remote south-west province of Yunnan, Sarah Shuckburgh has her future read and then watches as the predictions unfold. Fragrant smoke billows from the altar, a wizened monk beckons me into a tiny rock-hewn temple and thrusts a container of bamboo into my hand.
On top of the world
Daily Telegraph 8 April 2006, Katherine Tanko
Yunnan is thought to have been the inspiration for the paradise of Shangri-la. And Katherine Tanko finds no reason to doubt it.
North-west Yunnan is one of those special places, touched by magic. Set in the shadow of the Himalayas, just south of Tibet, it has snow-capped peaks, fertile valleys and remote villages populated by China's minority groups.
Old China: catch it while you can
Daily Telegraph 4 April 2006, Michelle Jana-Chan
Old China: catch it while you can. All the headlines out of China are about what's sexy, shiny and brand spanking new, from the radical stadiums bubbling up in Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Games to the razor-sharp design and technology of Shanghai, now gearing up for the World Expo in 2010.
The China challenge
Daily Telegraph 4 April 2006, Adrian Bridge
The China challenge; Beijing and Shanghai in pictures. For many first-time visitors to China, the super-slick Maglev train that shoots between Shanghai airport…
All the tease in China
Daily Telegraph 8 March 2004, Sarah Shuckburgh
Scheming concubines and pampered little emperors sum up Beijing's imperial past - and its present, says Sarah Shuckburgh. As a concubine myself - concubine notoire - being the common-law partner of a Frenchman - I find myself drawn to my real, Chinese counterparts. Therefore, on our first day in Beijing, we head straight for the palace that, for 500 years, was home to royal concubines without number.
China: Shanghai’s funky fusion of East and West
Daily Telegraph 23 October 2004, Michelle Jana Chan.
This historic port, already the country's most glamorous city, is reviving its reputation as the heart of oriental extravagance, says Michelle Jana Chan.
I accidentally pushed the door into the Gents' and came across three startled figures in strappy A-line dresses of white towelling and high heels, applying riotously pink lipstick upon pouty lips and fingering their tousled hair with gel. Two of the men looked up wide-eyed and startled. The third winked at me and smiled.
China: A land on the move
Daily Telegraph 22 October 2004, Michelle Jana Chan
Michelle Jana Chan returns to China after a decade away, and journeys by train across a country in the throes of momentous change.
Just over 1,000 years ago, present-day Xi'an was arguably the largest, most cosmopolitan and cultured city in the world. Inside the crenellated city walls that still stand today, one million inhabitants spoke in a dozen tongues, including Chinese, Sogdian and Tibetan.
China: New kid on the rock
Daily Telegraph 15 Jan 2005, Katherine Tanko
I had always fancied having a go at rock climbing. But the idea of scaling crags on a rain-soaked weekend course in Snowdonia had never appealed. Then I heard about climbing in Yangshuo. This tiny village in southern China is famous for its classical Chinese landscape, a lush mixture of green paddy, snaking rivers and haunting limestone pinnacles.
Designer China
Guardian Saturday May 27 2006, Imogen Fox
When Chinese Vogue launched last August, its print run of 300,000 sold out almost immediately. Quite a feat for a glossy magazine featuring high-end designer clothes in a country where the average annual income is less than £1,000. Fashion in Shanghai is hugely important on every level. Giorgio Armani has proclaimed Shanghai to be the most exciting city in the world
Cruise downstream
Guardian, Saturday May 6 2006, Nick Maes
I wouldn't normally associate a haunt like Xitang with the toothy gleam of Hollywood royalty. It's hard to imagine high-octane players like Tom Cruise kicking back in an ancient Chinese water-village and much easier to picture the place filled with decadent opium dens and people idling on sampans.
Argentina
An Englishwoman abroad
Sunday Telegraph 13 September 2005
Life imitates art on the poor streets of Argentina, says Lindsay Hawdon. The older boy can be no more than six, his brother is about four, but it is the younger boy who carries their baby sister, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist. Her feet hang down below his knees as she rests a sleepy head on his narrow shoulder. She is about half his age, half his size.
An Englishwoman abroad
6 September 2005
There's a three-minute romance on the dance floor for Lindsay Hawdon in Buenos Aires. There are a few people sitting at tables when I enter the dance salon. They've drifted in from outside, where it's dark and cold, to attend a class at the Mansion Dandi Royal in Buenos Aires's tango district.
An Englishwoman abroad
28 August 2005 Sunday Telegraph
War veterans feel starved of respect in Argentina, writes Lindsay Hawdon. There are eight of them sitting around the ledge of the stone fountain in the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires. They are dressed in military uniform, their combat trousers bunched up around the tops of their heavy black boots. Their placard reads: "Veteranos de Guerra de Malvinas".
India
India: Urban Masala
Daily Telegraph 18 January 2003, Stanley Stewart
They are some of the most vibrant cities in the world. Stanley Stewart celebrates Delhi deep in the modern residential districts of south Delhi, barely a muezzin call from the Oberoi Hotel and the Delhi Golf Course, lies the medieval village of Nizamuddin. On Thursday evenings pilgrims converge here hoping that prayers at the tomb of the village saint will solve their problems.
Manic Sikh preachers
Sunday Times June 19, 2005
Richard Green finds inspiration in the congregation at the stunning Golden Temple at Amritsar I walked into the temple compound, still swatting the air like a honey-coated Scot in summer, but suddenly the midge-like hawkers were gone. It was as though an invisible force were stopping them from entering. Glancing back, the most pesky postcard-seller caught my eye and briefly interrupted his Churchill-ian sulk with a smile.
Vietnam
Vietnam: embers of empire
Daily Telegraph 16 July 2005, Michelle Jana Chan
The crossover of Vietnamese and French cuisine makes for a magical mélange. Even Vietnam's national dish, the beloved noodle soup pho, may originate from pot-au-feu - whose final syllable is pronounced the same way. The Vietnamese burn shallots to make consommé for this broth, in the same way the French burn onions.
Peru
Cusco: the ancient Inca city that puts Peru at your feet
The Sunday Times April 27, 2003, Stanley Stewart
The Sacred Valley Andes adventure Haunting ancient ruins, classic colonial piles, remote rainforest and high adventure: Cusco is the star of South America, says Stanley Stewart.