Caroline Courtauld Books

An isolated and remote country, unspoiled by mass tourism, Myanmar aka Burma is for the curious traveller, not the average tourist. This book takes you on a tour of Burma from the great Ayeyarwady River to Kipling's Mandalay, the last of Burma's royal capitals. It also explores the exotic Inle Lake whose inhabitants live on floating islands.

Thousands lived in the Forbidden City when it was imperial China's center of power and the world's most extravagant palace. With the exceptions of the eunuchs, only one of those thousands was an adult male -- the emperor himself. Planned by emperor and architect Yongle, in 1405, it was laid out with open space and buildings corresponding to specific parts of the human body. The high, vermilion palace walls, by hiding the emperor, enhanced his mystique and glory.This chronicle richly blends history, anecdotal narrative, biographical portraits and illustrations and takes the reader through 500 years of life in imperial China. The authors gathered previously inaccessible materials from the archives in Beijing, making this a truly unique and insightful work. The photographs of Hu Chui breathe life into the structures of the Forbidden City, along with a wealth of treasures and paintings collected during imperial times.

A new, extended introduction on the true soul of Hong Kong and the meaning of the Chinese takeover in 1997 followed by an updated text. Literary extracts are complemented by new special sections including the environment and the peoples of Hong Kong and its' 235 outlying islands.