Girl's view of Beijing captured in pic book

The illustration of the park in Beijing. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The scene that Sultan and Trabulsi like best is the park in autumn: a group of old ladies dance, a band of the elderly play instruments and sing, young men play table tennis and fly a kite, girls kick shuttlecocks and play Chinese yo-yo, an old man writes brush calligraphy on the ground and walks around with a bird cage. People are exercising, and Trabulsi is learning tai chi.

"What a busy park," says Sultan, laughing. "But this is just what a park can be like in China, with so many different kinds of people having different kinds of fun."

Sultan writes in a way that a lot of people can relate to: Expats can connect it to their experience, Beijingers can enjoy that someone else appreciates their city and culture, other Chinese people who don't know Beijing can learn about the city, and so can people who don't know China at all.

"I put all my passion into this book. I wrote it with love," says Sultan.

Readers, especially Chinese readers, might find little surprises in the book while reading, as there are so many Chinese elements that Chinese people are too familiar with to actually notice.