The profile photo of Hong Ying, an acclaimed Chinese International writer. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Anyone who has read Hong's novels would be struck by the harsh conditions she grew up in.

"Six kids and parents squashed in two small rooms on the southern bank of the Yangtze," she describes. "The ground is invariably littered with refuse. A 10-minute walk on any mountain path in South Bank treats you to hundreds of different smells, a universe of olfactory creations. People's lives consist of nothing more than fighting, quarreling, gossiping, scheming, eating, bathing, urinating, and having bowel movements."

Reading books inspired her to escape poverty, she said.

"Through reading I am always in good company. Good literature stimulates, inspires, and develops my imaginative faculties, and gives me an appreciation of the best, so that repetitious life becomes more colorful and varied."

Ironically, she was "Chongqing City Image Promotion Ambassador" in 2009.

"The title was given by common civilians of Chongqing through an equal opportunity to vote in the newspapers. They love my memoir because the book is about them. Many people once told me that I wrote what they wanted to say but dared not their entire lives," she grinned.

Reflecting on her success, Hong Ying is more self-aware than many of her modest peers.

"I feel like, OK, I'm being given this incredible good talent by my mother to be adept in storytelling. I love reading and I'm smart, so I better try and do everything I ever wanted with that."

Hong is always planning her next step.

"Comedy. .. It's the most difficult. I haven't tried it but I'm confident I will do it well."