Sally Pegg, whose Chinese name is Mei-Har Yeung, is a 57-year-old midwife who has lived in the UK for more than 35 years. Like many other Chinese people who move abroad, she has adopted a more conventional Western name.

Married to a Yorkshireman, she was born in Kowloon City, Hong Kong and was one of seven children. She is company secretary of the Leeds Chinese Community Association (LCCA), which generally meets every month on a Saturday to discuss issues affecting their community and organise cultural events, such as the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival at Harewood House, which this year took place in June.

She said: "We all watched the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony from beginning to end. I am happy Hong Kong is part of China and proud that they have done a good job in staging the Olympics. It was spectacular and they obviously put a lot of effort into making the event an enjoyable experience not just for the Chinese but for people all over the world. It is nothing less than what we would have expected.

"China is changing and for the better, for its people and the country. The Olympics really have put China on the world stage and I think it has shown that it is a country which is resourceful, stable and united."

But what does she make of some of the criticisms of their county and, especially, the protests over Tibet which were headline news around the world in the build-up to the games?

Sally said: "I think this is not just a problem which China has. Almost every country in the world has some sort of dispute like this. In this country, it was Northern Ireland, in India and Pakistan it is Kashmir. However, I strongly believe we must not mix sports with politics, which has got a tendency to seize every opportunity to spoil what is to be an occasion to celebrate the hard work a lot of people have put in to compete in this prestigious event."

Dr David Wei Ji is 42 and is a research analyst specialising in colour imaging technology for things like security scanners, again at Leeds University. He is also vice chair of the LCCA.

He said: "If the Olympics had not happened, then the protesters would not have had the coverage they got.

"I think Chinese people will change and are changing. There are parts of China which, if a Westerner had gone there, people would turn their heads in amazement but because of the Olympics, it is not as unusual any more. People are getting used to it. I think this is good and the Chinese government has an image it has to keep up now.

"It's also changing in other ways. When I left China, everyone I knew used to use motorbikes to get about. When I went back there recently, everyone has now got a car, some people have two and there is a problem with a lack of parking spaces."

Joyce (Xiaoyi) Cai (pronounced Tie), is 29 and lives in Headingley. Born in Jiangmen, Guangdong Province, South China, she came to Leeds four years ago and works in the language department at Leeds University.

"I think this is the moment 1.3bn people have been waiting for for a long long time, so we really hope it goes well and shows the world what China has achieved.

"There are differences living here. In China I would have a lot more spare time to go out and eat or see friends, or go shopping. Here, I stay at home more. In the UK, most people go out to the pub at night but that's not my interest."

The LCCA is a support network for Chinese people living in Leeds. It aims to improve their lives by giving them opportunity to celebrate Chinese culture and tradition as well as promoting community spirit, cultural diversity and preventing social isolation.

It also runs a series of classes, mainly on weekends, in Chinese dancing, taekwando, Cantonese and traditional writing classes and Mandarin classes.

The LCCA website is www.lcca-uk.org.


The Chinese calendar is based around lunar months, which have either 29 or 30 days. Every four years, they have a 'leap month' to keep up with the solar clock. The new year is determined by the day of the second new moon after the winter solstice, which means it can fall in either late January or early February in the Western calendar.

Chinese custom means people are normally referred to by their surname and then their first name. Married women do not normally adopt their husband's name.

The population of China is 1.3bn, the world population is about 6.6bn.

This year is the Chinese year of the brown earth rat, which is a symbol of good luck in the Chinese zodiac – rats are natural hoarders and like to acquire and keep things of value. Next year will be the year of the brown earth cow. There are 60 different combinations of animals, colours and elements. For example, 2017 will be the year of the red fire chicken.