Born two years before the invention of daguerreotype & the birth of photography, Thomson first travelled to Asia in 1862 where he set up a professional photographic studio. The local culture & the people of Asia fascinated him, & in 1868 he made his second trip, this time settling in Hong Kong. Between 1868 & 1872, Thomson made extensive trips to Guangdong, Fujian, Beijing, China`s northeast & down the Yangtse River, covering nearly 5000 miles. This exhibition catalogue is drawn from his time in these regions. These were the early days of photography when negatives were made on glass plates that had to be coated with emulsion before the exposure was made. A huge amount of cumbersome equipment had to be carried from place to place & with perseverance, great energy & stamina, Thomson managed to take a wide variety of images & themes, including landscapes, people, & architecture, domestic & street scenes. As a foreigner, his ability to gain access to photograph women is also remarkable. In China, Thomson excelled as a photographer in quality, depth & breadth, & in artistic sensibility. ...

China 1626 Replica Map by the Old Map Company is a reproduction of the map created for the famous atlas of the period by the master map maker John Speede Esq. The Old Map Company has recreated the antique maps of British counties, European cities & World countries originally crafted by master map maker John Speede Esq. whose work had accuracy & quality not surpassed for centuries. Each map is treated & presented on specially crafted paper then h&-treated giving it texture & an aged appearance before being beautifully engraved & detailed. ...

This is a spectacular & lavish portrait of China, the world's oldest civilization
- past, present & future. You can take an incredible
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If you are planning a trip to China or if just want to get to know a little more about the Chinese, let ” China A-Z” by writer & journalist Kai Strittmatter be your introduction to this marvellous country & its people. The book is both amusing & informative, giving an understanding of the world’s fastest growing superpower, its ancient tradition & the millions of Chinese who inhabits its lands. All Chinese look the same, some say. Same goes for Europeans. Did you know that our Olympic hosts in 2008 don’t eat soup, they drink it? That their surnames come before their first names? That their good sense is to be found not in their heads but in their hearts? Or that white is their colour of mourning? Kai Strittmatter lived & worked in China for ten years & in this fascinating book he lets in on a few secrets. Introducing us to some telling Chinese symbols
- but not all 57, 000 of them!
- he explains in a wealth of charming, amusing anecdotes & what they reveal of China & its people. On the way we meet pensioners who practice the art of street calligraphy, read the Beijing police’s hilarious English phrasebook & have the dubious pleasure of sampling trendy ‘ Western’ food, as well as a hundred other surprises. With the Beijing Olympics 2008 luring even more travellers to China, this amusing, affectionate & perceptive book provides a fascinating guide to this lively, sociable & friendly people & their complex & often contradictory society. As the author says: ‘ Be prepared for everything when you come to Beijing. It really is unbelievable what can happen here.’‘ Anyone who has spent a night on the same floor of a hotel as a group of Chinese tourists will know that most Chinese love _re nao_: “heat & noise”. They love to go where lots of people are already squeezed together, where all hell has broken loose. _ Re nao_ is a state of being that people strive for because it brings them pleasure & joy. The idea is to dive into as large a mass of people as possible & then, through emitting as many decibels as possible, to reassure each other that you aren’t alone in the world. Some people still suspect that the construction plans for fireworks are encoded in Chinese genes. As a result, they invented them & use them with a mastery & pizzazz unequalled anywhere else in the world. Today _re nao_ is more popular than ever in China, thanks to the increase in happy occasions, which historically have been all too rare for this long-suffering people. The mother of all _re nao_’s was the day when it was announced that Beijing would host the Olympic Games. All that night you couldn’t understand a word the television reporters were saying. _ Re nao_ fits the Olympic spirit: the character _re_ once represented a torch-holder. The opposite of _re nao_ is _tai ping_, “the highest peace”. Here’s a tip: _tai ping_ can be found in Beijing in only one way
- you’ll have to be alone in a swimming pool, with both ears underwater.’`...this is a delightfully witty & insightful guide to todays China.` _ The Guardian_`A humourous & insightful study of life in China’ _WANDERLUST_


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An administrative map of China at 1:6, 500, 000 from Gizi Map showing the division of the country into provinces. All place names are given in both Chinese & Latin alphabet. Hong Kong & the Pearl River Delta are presented in a greater detail on an inset. China’s provinces are shown in bright contrasting colours. Town symbols indicate the size of the population. Main airports & ports are marked, as well as coastal & international shipping routes, Topographic information is limited to the network of rivers. Latitude & longitude lines are at 5° intervals. The map is not indexed. Multilingual map legend

Includes:: English. An inset shows Hong Kong & the Pearl River Delta region at 1:1, 000, 000.* This title is also available as a wall map.

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China at 1:4, 500, 000 on a large administrative wall map, size 135cm x 95cm (53” x 37.5” approx), from Global Mapping showing provinces in different colours. An additional panel provides more information about each province. Names of the provinces & of the provincial capitals are shown in both Chinese & Latin alphabet; all other place names are given only transliterated. Towns are graded according to their population. The map shows the network of principal road & railway connections & indicates domestic airports. Topography is shown by subtle relief shading with names of main geographical

Features: mountain ranges, peaks, deserts, etc. Latitude & longitude lines are drawn at 5° intervals. Additional panel lists the administrative units indicating their status (province, autonomous region, etc), population (in 2010) & the capital.

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China at 1:4, 375, 000 in a series of Adventure maps from the National Geographic Society with cartography provided by Reise Know-How. The map is double-sided & printed on light waterproof & tear-resistant synthetic paper. All place names are in both Chinese & Latin alphabet. Cartographic information provided by Reise Know-How has been adjusted to follow the house style of the NGS Adventure series with greater emphasis on the country’s topography. Altitude colouring in broader bands has been replaced here by contours at 500m intervals & relief shading. Coverage

Includes:: the whole of Mongolia where boundaries of national parks & other protected areas are very prominently highlighted. Road network is graded into five types & shows distances are on main & selected secondary routes. Railway lines are included & domestic airports are marked. Internal administrative boundaries are shown with names of the provinces. Symbols indicate numerous places of interest, including the Great Wall & UNESCO world heritage sites, archaeological remains, etc. The map has a latitude & longitude grid at intervals of 4° & is indexed. Overall, the NGS map presents a more vivid picture of the country’s topography, whilst the original RK-H version provides clearer information for touring the country by road or rail.PLEASE NOTE: to ensure faster delivery to our customers we keep this title in regular stock in the Reise Know-How version. The NGS versions can be ordered on request.

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The first part of book gives useful information regarding planning a trip, buying & outfitting a bicycle, survival skills, & getting yourself & the bicycle into China. The main part of the book is given over to the nine tours. The trips cover various areas including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, & the part of the Great Wall. Each trip is then described with the practical information first, eg distance, estimated completion time, best time to go, & terrain etc. This is followed by a comprehensive guide of the route. Accommodation & eating suggestions are also given at each stage of the route. Illustrated throughout with many b/w photographs & various simple maps. The book ends with a comprehensive phrase guide. ...

Cloth-backed small size version of A New Map of Irel&, originally published by William Faden around 1797 & dedicated to ” His Majesty King George the Third, The Patron & Promoter of every useful science”. Counties are in different colours, with the divisions into Ulster, Connaught, Leinster & Munster also marked. A pretty vignette of a rural scene with cupids decorates the title. This reproduction was taken from what used to be called a “cloth-dissected” map, made when the map itself was cut into sections & each section then individually pasted onto an overall cloth backing for the whole map. In this version the whole map is backed onto cloth in one piece but the gaps between the sections have been reproduced in the printing to preserve the style & the feeling of the original. Each individual map is presented folded in a colourful case covered with a unique design marbled paper – no two cases are identical.PLEASE NOTE: this title is also available in a larger size reproduction. To see the list of all the titles in this series from Old Folding Maps please click on the series link. ...

Cloth-backed small size version of A New Map of Irel&, originally published by William Faden around 1797 & dedicated to ” His Majesty King George the Third, The Patron & Promoter of every useful science”. Counties are in different colours, with the divisions into Ulster, Connaught, Leinster & Munster also marked. A pretty vignette of a rural scene with cupids decorates the title. This reproduction was taken from what used to be called a “cloth-dissected” map, made when the map itself was cut into sections & each section then individually pasted onto an overall cloth backing for the whole map. In this version the whole map is backed onto cloth in one piece but the gaps between the sections have been reproduced in the printing to preserve the style & the feeling of the original. Each individual map is presented folded in a colourful case covered with a unique design marbled paper – no two cases are identical.PLEASE NOTE: this title is also available in a larger size reproduction. To see the list of all the titles in this series from Old Folding Maps please click on the series link. ...