Anna Hartley is an Australian writer.

She has lived in Paris and Beijing since 2011.

Her work has been published in The Washington Post, France 24, Forbes Travel Guide, The Houston Chronicle, The New Zealand Herald, The Vancouver Sun, the Beijinger, and Babbel Magazine.

One Year in Beijing: Advice to My Former Self

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One Year in Beijing: Advice to My Former Self

Today marks exactly one year since my husband and I arrived in Beijing. It’s been quite an adventure for us both, and as with any life change, I've learned, grown, and changed a lot. Mostly because I did everything ass-backward. There were moments when I've wished that a future version of myself could whisper the secrets of Beijing in my ear and smooth the path before me. But if I actually had the opportunity to go back in time and share such pieces of advice, what would they be?

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Gaze Upwards: Getting Lost Among the Stars in Australia's South-West

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Gaze Upwards: Getting Lost Among the Stars in Australia's South-West

From my office in Beijing, I called Astrophil, an octogenerian stargazer to talk astronomy for the latest issue of Your Margaret River Region Magazine. It was wonderful if not slightly surreal to talk to him about the clear night sky and star clusters, while I was sitting through a rather smoggy day. I rarely see stars here in the city, but thanks to Phil, I’m now on the lookout.

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How To Live Like A Parisian, No Matter What Neighborhood You’re In

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How To Live Like A Parisian, No Matter What Neighborhood You’re In

Articles about how to dress like/talk like/date like a Parisian are a dime-a-dozen, and mostly complete BS, so I was hesitant to take on this subject. Instead of listing what colors to wear and how to get that sexy french girl tousled hair that everybody seems to want, I’ve just described how I actually lived, when I was in Paris. Enjoy!

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How Knowing A Second Language Helped Me Learn A Third

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How Knowing A Second Language Helped Me Learn A Third

I never expected to move to China, nor begin to learn Mandarin. Yet while the language may be totally unfamiliar, the process of learning a language from scratch is not. I wrote about how already speaking French has helped me to tackle this third language for Babbel Magazine, which is the official online publication of one of the worlds largest online language learning resources.  

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Hiking the authentic Great Wall of China, without the crush→

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Hiking the authentic Great Wall of China, without the crush

During our visit to Beijing in November, we spent a day hiking on an a beautiful and empty, 'wild' section of the Great Wall of China. This article was published in the Washington Post, and the grammatical error contained in the first sentence earned me a slew of annoyed emails. 

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