Cayol says her over 20 years in Beijing have taught her a lot about time. She points out that Chinese people can be "very rapid" in getting things done and ‘very slow" when they want to enjoy life.

"It's also a symbol of a very huge civilization. Chinese have a very specific relationship with time — much more flexible, much more, I'd say, friendly with time," she says.

This prompted her to publish the book, Shijian Lide Zhongguoren, in French and Chinese. The English title translates from Chinese as "Chinese in Time" and from French as, "Why Do the Chinese Have Time".

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A celebration of civilizations