How China has crept into my life

In one of those startling feats of memory, I can vividly recall the first time I encountered China, in the shape of a plate of sauteed beef with bamboo shoots and water chestnuts. I was 17, had my first paycheck in my pocket, and was determined to sample what exotic delights provincial Oxford could offer, which, to be honest, wasn't much.

Remember, this was a time in the 1960s when there was no Internet (yes, children, it's true), no mobile phones, television was limited to six hours a day, and most people's view of the world was based on what they'd learned at school, coupled with, in my case, the foreign news pages of the UK press.

I think I can date my growing fascination with the huge, sprawling country that has the frozen temperatures of the northeast on one hand, and the near tropical climes of Hainan province in the south, from that plate of beef with bamboo shoots and water chestnuts.