A man returns to Hoi An in his retirement to compose a poem honouring his parents. Two teenagers, ostracized in a private school, forge an unlikely bond. A son discovers the truth about his father's business ventures and his dreams of success. A young bride, isolated on a remote island with her new husband, finds community in a group of abalone divers.

Hue is one of Vietnam's treasures, a city that until fairly recently was the royal capital. So naturally, there is a strong legacy of court life in the architecture, the cuisine, even in the manners of this elegant city on the Perfume River. With a keen grasp of Hue's turbulent history and a deep appreciation of its remaining imperial architecture - a World Heritage Site - journalist and travel writer Carol Howland is the perfect guide to Hue's unique palaces, gardens, food, theatre, literature, crafts, and religions. She explains why and how the French eventually seized control of Vietnam, here in Hue, and the dramatic effects this had on the royal family and the people of Hue. She relates the stories of their grandparents and even receives a history lesson from one of the men who might have become emperor. She reveals the daily life of a Nguyen emperor and the exotic foods of an imperial banquet. Infinitely insightful, HUE, VIETNAM'S LAST IMPERIAL CAPITAL will appeal to anyone intrigued by an elaborate, feudal, oriental court life, only recently disappeared.

The Forbidden City in Beijing is one of the greatest royal palaces in the world: and was the sacred centre of the Chinese empire. Despite political upheaval and social change in the rest of China, the life of rigid protocol and ritual in the Forbidden City remained unaltered, frozen in time, until the day when the modern world entered its long-closed gates and changed it for ever. This account is an insight into five centuries of Chinese history, from the beginnings of the palace in 1405 to its modern function as a museum.

Seventeen-year-old Alex Jackson comes home from school to find that his father, a CBC news cameraman, wants to take him to China's capital, Beijing. Once there, Alex finds himself on his own in Tian An Men Square as desperate students fight the Chinese army for their freedom. Separated from his father and carrying illegal videotapes, Alex must trust the students to help him escape. Closely based on eyewitness accounts of the massacre in Beijing, Forbidden City is a powerful and frightening story.

An introduction to the physical and economic geography of Vietnam.

Travel & Holiday.