Tower and Town, July 2021 (view the full edition)'I am a Chinese girl at heart but Wiltshire is a wonderfully inspiring place. It has good Feng Shui'Liu Hong Cannon was born in northern China and came to study in England. She is a teacher and novelist, and lives in a village outside Marlborough. She is married with three children. She is working on a historical novel set in late 19th-century China. On first sight, Wiltshire reminded me of Mongolia, the Chinese part of which I once visited. The Downs have a special openness that resonates with the soul. Wiltshire is also a lot of pretty and peaceful market towns, which contrasted with the bustling, medium-sized Chinese seaside city I came from. Penelope Lively called Wiltshire "the cradle" of England's civilisation, and walking in Avebury amongst the enigmatic standing stones you can see why. I came to England as a student and ended up in Wiltshire because of my husband's job. I was a language teacher in Beijing, and carried on teaching here, though instead of English I now teach Mandarin Chinese. It kept me up to date with events and I have met some really lovely people through my work who have taught me a great many things. There are so many differences between the two languages, which is a reflection of the two cultures. I am so grateful to be part of both. Writing in English about China, which started off as a way of dealing with homesickness, has now become a part of my identity; it is also a unique pleasure to get published in my adoptive language, even more so to discover that what I write can entertain. Above all, it is a great honour to be given the voice, and the more I write the more I realise the truth that there are more things that unite us than divide us - except perhaps the weather. I am of course a Chinese girl at heart, and love nothing better than a good stir-fry and a loud banter in my mother tongue, Mandarin, but this green and pleasant land has taught me the special joy of eating smelly cheese and the power and value of pregnant silence. Wiltshire is a wonderfully inspiring place. It has good Feng Shui. I have now lived more years in Wiltshire than anywhere else, including China. Wiltshire is where all my children were born and where I have made enduring friendships. A home is where you feel the most at ease in, and Wiltshire is such a place for me. Liu Hong Cannon |