Phoenix Rising

After six years of studying and working three jobs, a year of planning and twenty two hours of travelling, Gwenyth James lands in Beijing. But this isn’t just a sight seeing trip! Gwenyth, an Australian acupuncturist, is also there to study Chinese medicine!

Despite not speaking a word of Chinese, for two months she travels alone from Beijing in the north to Chengdu in the south. Along the way she works at Hangzhou Traditional Chinese Medicine hospital and with a remarkable doctor in Shanghai.  But it’s not all work! She takes time off to walk the Great Wall, do Tai Chi in the park in Hangzhou, cruise the Yangtze River and visit pandas.

Finally, Gwenyth arrives in Nanning in the south where she joins a group of Australians doing an acupuncture internship. For nearly two months she lives in an apartment block and works at a Chinese hospital while joining the group on culinary safaris in search of western food, a trip to Guilin and an evening at a Chinese television studio!

At times Gwenyth is demoralised by discrimination, bullying and an assault. But the incredible kindness and generosity she experiences ensures the trip is triumph. While the people she met were ordinary Chinese, her journey of travelling, living and working in China is extraordinary.