China Blonde

How a newsreader's search for adventure led to friendship, acceptance ... and peroxide pandemonium

From a television news reader in Sydney to a mum in the middle of China, "China Blonde" is a true story of reinvention, love, humour and creating a place in your new world. Having finally found true love, Nicole Webb would rather be anywhere with her hotelier husband, James, than without him.

In a leap of faith and the quest for something more, a newly pregnant Webb quit her coveted role on television and joined her husband in Hong Kong to start a brand-new life. The trio lived happily on the 43rd floor of a skyscraper apartment block until the mainland city of Xi’an came calling.

Nicole Webb and Ava Walkden

Only a short plane ride from Hong Kong, the family of three found themselves plunged into life in a second-tier city, where the great divide between the Communist-led nation of China and its more independent little sister was very real. Faced with a foreseeable future where few people spoke English and Webb spoke shaky Chinese, red lanterns paved the way for a massive cultural awakening.

Amongst it all, however, was the overwhelming attention that Webb and her now three-year-old blonde mini-me received, which had them wanting to click their heels three times and return to Hong Kong (where foreigners were less conspicuous).

For the Chinese tourists who’d come to see the famed pagoda opposite the Webbs’ hotel (which created a lifestyle bubble for the family), Webb and her daughter, with their fair hair, seemed far more intriguing to curious visitors. To the blonde duo, seeing these tourists (with their phone cameras at-the-ready) felt akin to being chased by paparazzi.

While the family's isolation and trepidation with the unknown felt heart-achingly real, they vowed to immerse themselves into Chinese life. This is the chronicle of their experiences.

Available at Amazon.com and Walmart, $20.95 US; and Booktopia in Australia, $24.95 AUS.