by Navjot Singh
Travel writer

I first started writing about China when I went to visit the southern city of Guangzhou, which is the capital of Guangdong Province, for a one week holiday in autumn 2002. Initially it was only meant to be a short holiday and I had no firm intention to live in the country on a long term basis. Prior to this trip I had very little knowledge about the country, its people and the Chinese culture.

That one week’s vacation, plus a further opportunity to come and work in Hong Kong at a future date laid the firm foundations for me to turn all those situations related to culture shock which I came across, both in and outside the corporate environment, into a diary format.

It’s always been my habit since childhood to write a short diary of events and taking pictures of everything and anything, whenever I go on holiday or on business trip because when you are away from your usual surroundings in a different country, everything seems strange and weird to look at and feel.

Any foreigner going to China for the first time will find it different compared to most other countries because of the complex language and cultural issues. I wanted to portray those differences in a straight forward and honest manner so that other expats coming to China would not have to go through all the difficulties that I had to go through, combining chapters with short stories of my own personal experiences to write a detailed guide book which covered everything and anything about life in China for the foreign expat.

This could be for people who want to make China their second home for the purpose of work, marriage, education or if they just want to start a new life in China. Just to give you an idea of what I mean- for example, I had to face various challenges when I wanted to rent a place to live in Shenzhen and being in that hardship environment the steps I took to resolve those difficult issues with the local people (landlord, tenant agency and so on), and similar advice is provided for other scenarios.

The most important message I have portrayed in my book is that we as non-Chinese people living in China should not reject the local culture but instead learn how to deal with the difficulties.

I knew that no one single author had written a detailed comprehensive guide book about China, and I wanted to make it different to your average, say, “Rough Guide or Lonely Planet to so and so”. As much as I had wanted to write a book, the challenge I faced was that firstly I was not a professional writer so therefore I had to really work hard at convincing publishers that my work is worthwhile for readers. I did, however, always have a passion for writing since school days, and this was one of my advantages.

The second challenge for me was that I had to make the book different to other travel guide books, and this is why the book is specifically aimed at the Expatriate and not the tourist (although it may be beneficial for the latter too).

That is where I started to carry out detailed research by myself to create a comprehensive 120 page list containing names of Hospitals, International Schools, Chamber of Commerces’, Airline companies, Management Consultancies’ in China; as well as special chapters on how to deal with Culture shock before you go to China and when you are there.

I guess another thing that makes this book different is that it’s written by a British-Indian, and it’s rare for an Indian to write about China, simply because people of these two cultures don’t tend to mix much and there are diverse differences between the two. I have been told that I am the first British-Indian to write a travel guide about China.

If there are any wannabe travel writers reading this article, my best advice to you would be to start with a short personal diary and note all the things that come across in your mind the first time you see them because its always your first impressions, your feelings and your experiences that will make your article different to other writers because every one has their own way of observing the world.

Always bear the reader in mind and put yourself in the shoes of a reader. When you feel you have compiled a full manuscript, then approach publishers with your idea. If they like it then you have done the hard work.

I will have my second guide book on China published in the early part of 2009. Apart from this I contribute to various media applications as a freelance writer.

Navjot is the author of “Newcomer’s Handbook Country Guide: China: Including Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Shenzhen”, and has also written “China: Business Travelers Handbook, which is due for release in early 2009″.