false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1180457549m/1042203.jpg 1042203 9 Route 312 is the Chinese Route 66. It flows three thousand miles from east to west, passing through the factory towns of the coastal areas, through the rural heart of China, then up into the Gobi Desert, where it merges with the Old Silk Road. The highway witnesses every part of the social and economic revolution that is turning China upside down.<br><br>In this utterly surprising and deeply personal book, acclaimed National Public Radio reporter Rob Gifford, a fluent Mandarin speaker, takes the dramatic journey along Route 312 from its start in the boomtown of Shanghai to its end on the border with Kazakhstan. Gifford reveals the rich mosaic of modern Chinese life in all its contradictions, as he poses the crucial questions that all of us are asking about China: Will it really be the next global superpower? Is it as solid and as powerful as it looks from the outside? And who are the ordinary Chinese people, to whom the twenty-first century is supposed to belong? <br><br>Gifford is not alone on his journey. The largest migration in human history is taking place along highways such as Route 312, as tens of millions of people leave their homes in search of work. He sees signs of the booming urban economy everywhere, but he also uncovers many of the country&#8217;s frailties, and some of the deep-seated problems that could derail China&#8217;s rise. <br><br>The whole compelling adventure is told through the cast of colorful characters Gifford meets: garrulous talk-show hosts and ambitious yuppies, impoverished peasants and tragic prostitutes, cell-phone salesmen, AIDS patients, and Tibetan monks. He rides with members of a Shanghai jeep club, hitchhikes across the Gobi desert, and sings karaoke with migrant workers at truck stops along the way.<br><br>As he recounts his travels along Route 312, Rob Gifford gives a face to what has historically, for Westerners, been a faceless country and breathes life into a nation that is so often reduced to economic statistics. Finally, he sounds a warning that all is not well in the Chinese heartlands, that serious problems lie ahead, and that the future of the West has become inextricably linked with the fate of 1.3 billion Chinese people.<br><br>&#8220;Informative, delightful, and powerfully moving . . . Rob Gifford&#8217;s acute powers of observation, his sense of humor and adventure, and his determination to explore the wrenching dilemmas of China&#8217;s explosive development open readers&#8217; eyes and reward their minds.&#8221;<br> &#8211;Robert A. Kapp, president, U.S.-China Business Council, 1994-2004 1028599 29 5 2007 China Road: A Journey into the Future of a Rising Power total:406|5:109|4:201|3:85|2:10|1:1| 406 1625 685 144 4 4 false false Thu Feb 28 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Feb 12 11:41:09 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 29 14:08:14 -0800 2008 On the Road in China" on NPR. Three of my siblings (or siblings-in-law) have lived in Asia, and though I’ve never traveled in the area, I was fascinated by his series.

With this in mind, I intended to read Gifford’s Ch...more...]]> 5 3 false false Thu Nov 20 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 08 16:35:29 -0800 2008 Thu Nov 20 18:20:33 -0800 2008
The premise is that Gifford, a journalist with many years spent in China, travels Route 312 from the coast of China all the way the Kazakhstan border. The journey is filled with c...more...]]> 4 2 false false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 08 17:00:18 -0700 2008 Sun Aug 24 12:18:14 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 2 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Jan 31 07:47:00 -0800 2008 Mon Jul 07 13:19:14 -0700 2008
First, China is a collection of ethnic minorities, some of whom have almost nothing to do with the rest of China except by political fiat. He...more...]]> 3 2 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Sep 19 11:37:06 -0700 2007 Fri Nov 02 23:36:57 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 1 false false Wed Aug 20 06:01:27 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 20 06:01:27 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Oct 04 07:15:39 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 04 07:22:58 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Sep 18 13:01:12 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 18 13:02:33 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Jul 24 13:18:55 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 24 13:19:10 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Wed Nov 19 18:11:58 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 23 05:28:03 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Sep 30 08:01:39 -0700 2007 Wed Oct 17 10:37:25 -0700 2007 more...]]> 0 0 false false Thu May 14 02:43:36 -0700 2009 Wed May 06 19:25:14 -0700 2009 Thu May 14 02:43:36 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jan 29 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 21 09:44:52 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 29 10:13:41 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Aug 03 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 26 08:00:01 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 03 19:35:45 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Aug 11 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Nov 22 14:28:08 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 22 14:28:08 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri Sep 14 20:32:52 -0700 2007 Fri Sep 14 20:36:13 -0700 2007 educational. ]]> 4 0 false false Wed Jun 24 12:55:18 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 24 13:01:37 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Feb 19 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 25 08:37:26 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 25 08:48:23 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Aug 08 16:08:39 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 08 16:12:45 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Oct 10 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Nov 13 16:57:58 -0800 2008 Thu Nov 13 17:10:46 -0800 2008 1 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=1042203