Wanderings in China

Inveterate Victorian traveller and prolific artist Constance Gordon-Cumming roamed far and wide: from the Scottish Highlands to the American West, from the islands of Hawaii to southern China. Even among her many adventures, Gordon-Cumming's 1878/1879 trip to Hong Kong was momentous. She arrived just before Christmas 1878 to inadvertently witness the terrible Great Fire of Hong Kong that swept devastatingly through the Central and Mid-Levels districts. She then moved on to explorations of the streets, temples and Chinese New Year festivities in Canton (Guangzhou) before returning to Hong Kong for the horse races at Happy Valley in February 1879. Gordon-Cumming is that rare travel writer who while plunging into the throngs and crowds manages to observe the minutiae of life around her.. Describes the Canton and Hong Kong of the 1870s.A travelogue written by a fearless solo female traveller who was well-known for her books and magazine articles in the late Victorian period. Describes the traditional Chinese New Year festivities.