My childhood TV choices were dominated by my older brother, which meant that by the end of my teenage years I’d seen more kung fu movies than most. Jet Li, Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee were my idols, and for a brief spell, I took some basic martial arts lessons.

Then my interests wandered—boys, shoes, bags and travel—and I almost forgot about my former interest in kung fu . . . until I found myself in the Henan Province of China.

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