Ni hao, and welcome to my Editor’s Diary!
That, and the picture above, are clues to where I’ve been on holiday — the incredible Chinese city of Shanghai.
It was the experience of a lifetime, and I feel so very lucky to have had the opportunity.
In case you’re wondering, the picture is of the Mid-Lake Pavilion Teahouse in the Yuyuan Garden bazaar.
And yes, I did have tea when I was there. It was served at an upstairs table, by the window next to the flag you can see in the picture. And it was drunk from the most beautiful tiny porcelain cups, completely unlike the huge mug my tea usually comes in.
The bridge that leads out to the teahouse is deliberately zig-zagged to deter any evil spirits from entering the building. Handily, it also provides some excellent positions for taking photos from!
At night, the whole area is lit up, and it looks absolutely stunning.
The colours change through red, blue, purple and green and are reflected in the water, too.
The effect is magical, and it draws huge crowds of admirers every evening.
Photograph by Angela Gilchrist.
I have lots of stories to tell and pictures to share from my trip — far too many to include in this diary post.
So keep an eye out on our website in the weeks to come for lots more from China.
Of course, there’s always plenty catching up to do when I get back from holiday.
This time, I returned to 599 e-mails in my inbox.
Tracey from the Fiction team kindly offered to send me one more to make it a round 600, but I declined!
For more from Angela’s Editor’s Diary, click the tag below.
Angela Gilchrist I am the former Editor-in-Chief of “The People’s Friend” magazine. My passions include cats, Highland ponies, good books, vegetarian food and long walks in the Scottish countryside. My favourite place to get away from it all is the magical Isle of Skye.
