Mark Barratt-Boyes

WRITER'S STUFF by Mark Barratt-Boyes

Background He is assistant editor for Destinations magazine (the flagship publication, published four times a year) and the annuals Destinations Golf, Destinations Wine, Destinations Oz and Destinations Islands, and has also worked on their website www.destinationslive.travel. In addition, Mark has his own freelance writing, editing and marketing communications business, The Write Stuff (the web site, www.thewritestuff.co.nz is on the way). His other regular work is as staff writer and copy editor for the bimonthly trade magazine Professional Skipper, which covers the work boat industry and coastal shipping around New Zealand. The magazine was a finalist in the trade/professional category at the 2008 Qantas Media Awards, New Zealand’s premier publishing awards. Mark has published travel features and other articles or acted as copy editor for a wide variety of publications over the years, including Boating New Zealand, Style and the former Qantas New Zealand in-flight magazine, Southern Skies. He was also a consultant with the international public relations company Hill and Knowlton, in Auckland. In his spare time he enjoys renovating his house in the city of Auckland, plus skiing, sailing, cooking and making marmalade.

Thoughts about China Tourism I had travelled widely in my youth, crossing Asia to Europe and working in Britain and first visited China four years ago. l was invited to join a group of journalists on a visit to Shanghai and Suzhou as part of the buildup to the opening Air New Zealand’s direct flights to Shanghai in 2006. Shanghai is filled with excitement, yet there are many hidden parts of Shanghai and Suzhou is enchanting. There was the extraordinary vitality of Shanghai, pushing as quickly as possible to modernise, with the goal of becoming the flagship city of Asia without sacrificing all of its past. It was also great to have some free time to wander along the boulevards and experience the markets and the shops. I am looking forward to seeing what changes have taken place in the four years since I was last there, including the Expo. I am expecting to be amazed again.

Ancient Traditions Still Make the Best Tea in China

Note: As a guest of CNTO Sydney, Mark Barratt-Boyes visited Hangzhou Zhejiang Province on Sept. 2010.

My first cup of China’s famed Longjing Dragon Well tea at the China Tea Museum near Hangzhou is not what I expect. My only previous experiences of green tea have been at a Chinese restaurant, usually with dim sum, so I’m anticipating something sublime.

“Does it taste like spinach?” asks Jean Yan, a tea consultant at the museum. I nod my head in agreement.

“Ah, you never drink the first cup. It’s for smelling only,” Jean says. She pours the water from the cup and as a jug boils away merrily, I learn another part of the ritual. “Always wait a couple of minutes after the water boils for it to cool down to 80 or 90 degrees. If you pour boiling water on the leaves it burns them and spoils the taste.”...more

Shanghai - From High Rise to Low Life

Note: As a guest of CNTO Sydney, Mark Barratt-Boyes visited Shanghai on Sept. 2010.

As I watch the young woman at the Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant through a narrow pane of glass, her fingers fly so fast I can barely follow her movements. She takes a small round of pastry from a huge pile on one side, a precise amount of filling from a huge pile on her other side and within about five seconds she has made a perfect dumpling, exactly the same as the others she made in the minute or so I watch.

Just as I think how boring it must be for her, a manager, looking stern and self-important in his white coat, asks her to stop for a moment while they discuss some invoices. So, she has an important job in one of Shanghai’s bigger attractions, at least as far as food is concerned....more

A Lake of Dreams

Note: As a guest of CNTO Sydney, Mark Barratt-Boyes visited Hangzhou Zhejiang Province on Sept. 2010.

I’ve carried an image for years of an idyllic Chinese scene – a lovely lake with temples and villas dotted among lovely parks and gardens reaching down to the shore, Rolling hills in shades of grey disappear to the horizon, each a lighter shade of pale than the one nearer. Little islets break up the expanse of water, and colourful boats transport people to various gardens and scenic points.

At my first glimpse of the West Lake in Hangzhou, I realise this dream-like image that has been with me since I first read about the wonders of China as a young schoolboy has come to life.

As I walk along the Su Causeway, willows cast their dappled shade across our path, while late summer blossoms hang heavily from old, gnarled branches. The causeway is crowded with Chinese people, for whom the lake is one of the country’s major attractions, but my guide, Yang Jinfei, or Peter Yang, says we are lucky to have struck a quiet day...more

Expo Sets Its Sights on the Future

Note: Note: As a guest of CNTO Sydney, Mark Barratt-Boyes visited Shanghai EXPO 2010 on Sept. 2010.

I try to push my way forward to catch a better view of the two beautiful dancers demonstrating their intricate skills on the public stage at the Thailand Pavilion at the World Expo.

The massed throng is just as excited as I am with the girls’ presence and I have to be content with glimpsing them around heads that bob like a toy dog in the back of a car window.

I manage to make my way inside, where I am awed by the use of space and the dramatic use of colour. Despite the heat outside, the air of unity and harmony as we slowly make our way through the three exhibition halls fits well with the theme of the pavilion, “Thainess, sustainable ways of life.”...more

Shanghai’s fantastic flight path

At first glance, the man portrayed in the statue on the Bund alongside Huangpu River in Shanghai could be mistaken for Mao Zedong. There is that bulky presence, imperious stance and steadfast gaze toward the future. But he is in fact Chen Yi, the first mayor of Shanghai, a former Marshal of the People‘s Liberation Army, and China‘s vice premier from 1954 until 1972, the year of his death.

Although he stands on a lofty pedestal, and is several times larger than life, he looks overwhelmed by his surroundings. His head would barely show above the river, and he almost looks in danger of being swept away by the great tide of modernity that is washing over the city.

On the river, a constant stream of small freighters, ferries, lighters and longboats churn up and downstream. Tugs push barges loaded to the gunwhales with gravel and other building materials so that they appear to have no more than a metre of freeboard, and the wash created by an enthusiastic skipper might be enough to upset their delicate balance......more

Travelling backwards towards Suzhou

Somehow it seems appropriate to travel from the Chinese metropolis of Shanghai to the charming silk city of Suzhou in a train with the seats facing backwards.

Behind us, yet in front of us, is China‘s city of the future, while our train takes us on a 100 kilometre journey to Suzhou, the Venice of the East, which draws heavily on its past. For the best part of an hour we move at a fair clip through Shanghai‘s endless suburbs, then out onto open plain past paddy fields and other crops, broken by huge blocks of modern buildings housing some of Shanghai‘s new settlers and businesses.

It is a relief to arrive at Suzhou and board a coach for our hotel, past whitewashed buildings and along wide, clean avenues filled with shops and customers. Camphor trees rustle in the warm, spring air, and the buildings are decorated in intricate Chinese style under the eaves. If the city looks prosperous, so do its two million citizens, who enjoy a good standard of living by China‘s standards, as their GDP per capita was US$7249 in 2005, the fifth highest out of 659 Chinese cities.......more