Hopefully, this journal about a planned weeklong trip to the Hilton on Ocean Flower Island and back again won't be the entirety of my Chinese New Year adventuring; but, a Very Major Client is threatening to send me a very large sum of work to be completed during the official holiday break, and—with all the delays that happened with last summer's ride—I figure it's best to start now.

Hi, my name is Marian. I'm a 43 year old American woman who has been living in China since 2002. I work as a Chinese to English translator, mostly for government departments and state-owned media. Also, although it really doesn't make much in direct income, I do an increasing amount of social media related stuff.

As of the writing of this text, I don't have an Instagram or a YouTube; but my new assistant Shawn has been baller about getting me on to Red and Bilibili, and she's been translating these journals into Chinese. So, for all I know, by the time you read this, my videos may be easily watchable without having to belong to the Chinternet.

My main hobbies are coffee and biking. I do at least one 1,000+ km loaded bike tour per year, usually inside China. This trip won't be as long as that, but it will hopefully be followed by another similar length trip in about three weeks. 

Hope you enjoy!