During my childhood in Norway in the 1960s, China was frequently debated in newspapers, radio and television. As a young boy, I did not always understand what was going on in the great country in the east, where so many people lived. It was the Long March, the Cultural Revolution, emperors, concubins, the Yellow River, Manchuria and Shanghai. All of this felt exciting and sparked my imagination. In the spring of 1979, I tried for the first time to visit China. Unfortunately, they did not allow single travelers to enter, so it took many years before I could discover the country with my own eyes." (Tore Sandahl).