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　　大家都认识孙悟空。他出现在全世界的电视，电影，书和漫画中。我对他特别着迷的一个原因是因为我是猴年出生的。

　　Everyone knows the Monkey King. He appears in TV shows, films, books and comics all over the world. One of the reasons I am fascinated by him is because I was born in the year of the Monkey. Although I take Chinese astrology and horoscopes in general, with a huge pinch of salt, I am rather pleased to be a monkey. I like his mischievous, merry character。

　　I can’t remember how old I was when I first discovered him, but it was certainly before I got into my teens. However it wasn’t until much later that I started reading “Journey to the West”. I have the six volume unabridged version with me here in Beijing. One page is in Chinese and the facing page is in English. I have read the first volume but I am afraid I don’t think I will ever finish it. It is a fantastic fantasy and wonderfully imaginative, equal to anything in the Lord of the Rings, but it is just too long. The writing is so densely descriptive that seems rather long winded for modern tastes. I think I will have to try one of the many abridged versions there are here for sale in the bookshops around Beijing。

　　Since living in China I have discovered that “Journey to the West” is, in fact, based on a real journey. Xuanzang made his epic pilgrimage to India and back in the 7th century. It took him eighteen years. Recently there have been various attempts to retrace his journey. Often the traveller then writes a book about his or her adventures. I have read one by a Chinese women, called Sun Shuyun, entitled “Ten Thousand Miles without a Cloud” and I attended a talk by an Indian woman who did the journey in reverse. She travelled from southern India to China and she talked about her experiences at a popular Beijing bookstore called “The Bookworm。”

　　I can’t claim to have done the whole journey but I have been to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi’an. This is Xuanzang’s monastery, where he spent years of his life, and I climbed the sixty four metres to the top of its seven storeys. There is a big statue of Xuanzang in front of the temple area, which is a hot tourist spot with shops and restaurants cashing in on the monk’s popularity. The pagoda itself is old and majestic and offers great views over the city. I enjoyed my visit to Xi’an. There is fine city wall, unlike in Beijing, and a great eating area around the Great Mosque of Xi’an。