Notes from the road

The digital world offers us many options to keep records, but for some there is nothing like a journal, Xu Lin reports.

Yang Li carefully traces the outline of Myanmar's map with a pencil, transferring it to her notebook with carbon paper. She then uses colored tape to make a collage in the shape of the map.

It's a simple way to produce a travel journal, which contains both illustrations and text - you paste photos and tape and write your thoughts.

"It's like the journey becomes an indelible memory because each time you thumb through the pages, you remember the happy times," says Yang, 39.

More young Chinese, including Yang Li, now keep signature travel journals, with text and pictures, tape and collages. Photos provided to China Daily

She has been keeping travel journals for around three years, and also teaches others how to make them.

Speaking about travel diaries, Yang, who is now a freelance illustrator, says: "You may soon forget about the digital photos and rarely browse them on your computer, but it is convenient to read your journals repeatedly."

She adds that making travel journals is like creating art, and everyone has a unique style.

Her diaries contain travel tips because she records details like things to pack and public transport information.

So, whenever her friends have questions before they go to a destination she has visited, she can take out her journals to help them.

Such journals have become popular in Europe, the United States and a few Asian countries, including Japan and South Korea, in the past two decades, Yang says.

But the trend is in its infancy on the Chinese mainland.

Yang uses pens, paints and notebooks.

Also, while traveling, you can collect such items as tourist guides and produce a pretty journal without spending too much money.

She often cuts out things from a map or a brochure and uses them in her journal.

She also buys ink stamps and carves her own from erasers, etching designs of local images, such as those of iconic landscapes and buildings.

And she records memorable stories and beautiful scenery by drawing in her travel journals.

For instance, at Bayon Temple at Angkor Thom in Cambodia, she painted the iconic "face towers" known as the smile of Khmer, using a mixture of the red earth and water.

Speaking about the kind of people who are likely to maintain travel diaries, she says: "Those who prefer a fast pace of life may not like doing it. But nowadays, many people want to cultivate their own interests and often like handmade things.

"You don't have to be adept at painting (to start a travel diary). You can start by pasting things you like in the journal. Then, you can do simple drawings."

Referring to those who enjoy photography, she says they often find that keeping such journals is a good way to preserve the pictures.

Li Shanshan uses a pocket photo printer to print the photos she takes and pastes them in her journal.

The 30-year-old Beijing primary school teacher does not draw very much, but she collects items to include in her journal.

She also often reads others' journals online to learn how to improve her diaries.

Li takes photos of stray cats in iconic places, at home and abroad, and is preparing a journal about them.

"I enjoy the process. When I collect the items, I am happy because I know I will use them in my journal. I record my feelings about the trip when I return home," says Li.

Some people, however, like to record other things in a journal.

Chen Jiahong, 21, says: "Keeping journals helps me to organize my life and makes me feel positive. It also reminds me of my progress, and I feel a sense of accomplishment and am motivated to do more."

The junior at Beijing Sport University uses the same method to take notes in class. She's more motivated to learn when she sees beautiful drawings and cute stickers.

Chen, who shares photos of her journal on social media, says her parents are supportive because they know that she uses the journals to organize her life and her studies.

Zhao Shanshan, 20, says: "The journal has become an inseparable part of my life. I take time off to record my daily life. The palest of ink is better than the best memory."

The junior at a university in Dalian, in Northeast China's Liaoning province, adds that keeping a journal has also improved her ability to study because she uses the journal to make a reading plan and follow it.

Zhao, who has used the internet to make friends with others who keep journals, says they get together in coffeehouses from time to time to exchange notes and pretty tape.

When she started keeping a journal, she spent about 3,000 yuan ($436) on tape. Each roll cost about 10-50 yuan.

"You can't help buying tape because you are anxious to use it to make your journal fancy. But then I found that I did not need so much tape because the most important thing is the content," she says.

Contact the writer at xulin@chinadaily.com.cn

Handy tips

Almost all of Yang Li's students are women and can be divided into three categories.

They learn the basics of how to keep a journal in a three-hour course that costs 190 yuan ($28).

The first group comprises people ages 27 to 35. They are the most eager to learn techniques, especially how to paint. They are interested because they like the handwork.

The other two groups are college students and young children. Some parents send their children to her classes because they want them to record their trips.

Here are some tips from Yang:

1. Collect odds and ends that you can use for your journal, ranging from boarding passes, tickets, maps and tourist guides. You can also visit a stationery shop to buy tape and stamps.

2. Use quality notebooks with thick paper that you can stick things on or paint on using watercolors.

3. Prepare before your trip, and write something about it. While traveling, you can use your free time to work on your journal by pasting things, and then add more details when you are back home.