Her Lotus Year – One Night in Tientsin

In December 1924 Wallis passed through Tientsin (Tianjin) and stayed at the Astor House Hotel (which of course still stands and is open for business) – she had to travel by coastal steamer from Shanghai as bandit & warlord fighting meant the trains were barely running, the Peiho River icing up it was so cold, Tianjin was in the grip of a typhoid epidemic. The city was in chaos as the sick flooded in, a problem exacerbated by warlord tensions across north China, political tensions were high ahead of an expected peace summit between Sun Yat-sen and the northern warlords. Ocean liners out of Tientsin to Hong Kong or back to rhe US via Japan were packed as people sought to leave northern China. Yet Wallis, 28 years old, went to the train station and bought a ticket to Peking, a city surrounded by warlord troops due to bandit attacks along the line, and a cold 2 days journey due to bandits ripping up track and attacking trains. American citizens were advised not to travel. Why then did she go to Tianjin and then on to Peking? Her Lotus Year is out November 14 2024….