3 Years in China

University of Nottingham Ningbo Campus

In 2012 I had the opportunity to travel to Ningbo, a city of 6 million people, about 150 miles south of Shanghai. While I was there I studied at the University of Nottingham Ningbo and was awarded an MA with distinction in Chinese Contemporary Studies.

My dissertation was about an ancient park in Ningbo city centre, where old people gathered every day to socialise, play cards and listen to a local form of opera. I discussed the role the park played in their lives. You can read it at

http://www.heterotopiastudies.com/a-compensatory-heterotopia-zhongshan-park/

I wrote a blog, www.trailingspouseinchina.wordpress.com about my experience of living in the suburbs of the city, learning Mandarin and travelling in China and beyond.

On my return to the UK in 2015 I decided to keep up my Mandarin and I’ve continued to learn the language.

Zhongshan Park, Ningbo