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Brilliantly lovely engaging travel book about China before it became the roaring supercharged capitalist success story it is today. (Or has their capitalist dream gone bust too, like ours? It's hard to keep up these days!) Two anecdotes from me and a quote from Mr Thubron and we're done. Now I don't Leggi tutto

A fascinating and beautifully written account of a journey around China, as it recovers from Chairman Mao’s policies, the Cultural Revolution. It is a book of poetry, humanity, and clear-eyed observation.

Atmospheric, moody, and of its time. Also excellent. Thubron is trying to understand, and so are we: In this process, the book becomes a discovery, an excavation almost. I will read it again when I have a better grasp of Chinese history, and I will probably enjoy it even more then.

Interesting but dated view of China as seen through the eyes of a British traveller in the 1980's. Not only has the country changed enormously since then, but also the way the West looks at China. The condescension and borderline racist statements by the author would be strange and unacceptable in a Leggi tutto

I've been reading this book on and off, now and then, over a long period. I finally decided to just finish it. It's not that I didn't like the book. It is excellent, really. Thubron is a very observant outsider, and he is very knowledgable about China and its recent and ancient history. He reports o Leggi tutto

The topic of this book is intriguing, a recount of a journey written by a Western man walking through China not long after the Gang Of Four had lost power. What stands out is Thubron doesn't just stick to major cities such as Shanghai and Beijing, but travels deep into the heart of the country visit Leggi tutto