Apple pie paves the way to French food and jazz

A falling apple famously inspired Isaac Newton to become a great physicist but another apple triggered Yi-ping Pong's 20-year love affair with France.

Pong, a Taiwan-born writer and photographer who lived in Paris for 17 years, was in Beijing two months ago to promote her books on French jazz, art and food culture.

Pong's romance with France started in 1993, when she graduated from the National Taiwan University in Taipei, majoring in history.