Impressions of China | Highlights of Hunan

Impressions of China | Highlights of Hunan

Mighty mountain ranges rising out of the mists, a spicy local cuisine that’s out of this world and smiling faces wherever I turned, a week exploring Hunan province proved a wonderful introduction to China, the land where my father was born.

Shark fin soup – the modern consequences of an ancient tradition

Shark fin soup – the modern consequences of an ancient tradition

When Cindy, from My Diving Holidays, asked me if she could write a guest post for Travel With Kat about shark fin soup and the devastating knock-on effect that it has on eco-systems, I was eager to know more. I hope you find Cindy's post as fascinating as I did and...

China: When to go, what to see and where to eat!

China: When to go, what to see and where to eat!

As you may already know if you have been following my blog for a while I have a personal interest in China even though I have never been there. Tara, who I got to know on Twitter, works for a company that organises private day trips in a number of destinations...

Shanghai part 4: Epilogue

Shanghai part 4: Epilogue

   Jessfield House When I had finished writing Part 3 of my family's story in Shanghai I printed it off and popped it in the post addressed to Jessfield House. I thought the present owners might like to know that their house in England was actually...

Shanghai Part 3: The Journey Home to Jessfield

Shanghai Part 3: The Journey Home to Jessfield

My grandparents moved to Shanghai in the twenties and my father was born in 1929.  Growing-up in Shanghai  My father has many fond memories of growing up in Shanghai in the thirties… swimming at the Country Club, playing in Jessfield Park, drives into the...

Shanghai Part 2: An exciting new life!

Shanghai Part 2: An exciting new life!

My grandparents married in Hong Kong in 1927 (which was a British colony until 1997) and then continued the journey together to Shanghai. In some ways it was very much like a European city with many buildings such as the houses, schools and churches, all built in...

Shanghai Part 1: The Perfect Grandmother

Shanghai Part 1: The Perfect Grandmother

In 1927 my Grandmother, aged just 22 years old, boarded a boat to China following the man she loved, an English school teacher working in Shanghai. They married and two years later my father was born. This is the first part of a fascinating, if sometimes harrowing...