Douglas and Janet Chun have been ardent travelers in their lives. During the last 20 years, they have commemorated their trips with diaries that reflect their personalities and interests: She is a trained architect who loves to study human nature; he is an artist who has a passion for history.

This journal marks their first collaboration, seamlessly interweaving their different styles. The more spontaneous of the two, Janet draws her pen-and-ink sketches on location, sometimes applying color simultaneously to create vignettes that complement her text. Douglas is the more contemplative, absorbing the scene he will later paint in the studio as a formal, interpretive watercolor.

In 1937, as Japanese forces occupied their country, H. Janet Chun's prominent family fled their comfortable home in Guangzhou for Hong Kong, taking only a trusted servant and what they could carry. Though they returned home after the Allied victory, Janet and her family had to flee once again, when Communism took over China in 1949.

The view of China, as seen through the eyes of this third daughter will fascinate and surprise you. Hopeful, it beckons you to one day experience this complex and dynamic country through your own.