A Chinese Christmas…
China seems an unlikely place to spend Christmas and New Year but that is what we as a family did. The Chinese have enthusiastically taken to Christmas, with parties and celebrations, carols being sung in hotels and shopping malls, and all the usual commercial trappings we have in England.
There are now over 60 million Christians in China, and the number is growing. I should add that interest in the Oriental religions, Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism is also more in evidence. In any event, on Xmas day, churches were packed.
It is currently a perfect time to visit China. Everything works very well and it is still inexpensive. Going when it is cold, and out of season means very few tourists. Preparations for the 2008 Beijing Olympics are everywhere in evidence.
After the extremely modern and well organised airports in China, it was something of a shock to return to a shoddy and chaotic Heathrow airport. What a terrible introduction to Britain our main air gateway has become.
Happy belated 2007 greetings.