Why Dot loves China

“I don’t understand why people are so funny about Chinese-made goods,” says Dot, who needed to source masses of furnishings and fittings for the castle and found China had products that were more affordable and often not available locally. “The quality is amazing, it’s the best stuff in the world.”

Dot says her first two visits were overwhelming. “I didn’t buy a thing. On my third trip to Yiwu, four hours drive from Shanghai, I started to buy. We took our architect Sarah on one trip, to check she was happy with the quality. Yiwu is a commodities city, people go from around the world to buy there.

“Yiwu is divided into 20 or 30 markets, each of them many storeyed buildings about 3km long, with shops along the corridors. It’s unbelievable. When you go to the lighting market, there are chandeliers that drop from the ceiling in the foyer, right down to the floor.

“We went to a different city for furniture. These are master craftspeople.

“I love China, it’s constantly evolving and it’s changing so fast. When I’m there I like to walk in the park early each morning, watching people exercising, people in pyjamas doing calligraphy on the pavement using metre-long brushes with water from the lake, playing badminton, ballroom dancing, playing instruments, applying make-up, flying kites,” says Dot.