London, England

Gladys Aylward was born and raised in London, England, and at the beginning of the narrative, she is working as a parlormaid there. Her family is located in London, and the city is a comfortable place for Gladys, making her exit from the city for China all the more courageous.

Liverpool Street Station

This is where Gladys says a final good-bye to her friends and family and boards a train headed ultimately to China. She leaves on the morning of October 15th, 1932.

Vladivostok

Gladys has a frightening experience in this town. An interpreter befriends her, but it turns out he only wishes to compel her into forced labor as a machinist. The town is filthy and primitive, and Gladys wants no part of it. She narrowly avoids Russian soldiers, joining the crew of a Japanese ship to escape the town.

Yangcheng

Yangcheng is the remote village...