Two years ago, the trinket-filled alleys around Jokhang monastery and Barkhor street in Lhasa were filled with noise as Tibetans rose up in part political protest, part ethnic riot. Today, the noise is only the steady buzz of tourism in those colourful streets, the centre of Tibet and high on...

Last year, while studying Mandarin at Peking University, I chatted every Thursday with a student friend over a coffee (literally 'a': she drinks water). Matilda, to use her English name, is typical in that she gives a first impression of shyness, before lighting up in conversation once you get to...