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From Rice to Riches; a Personal Journey Through a Changing China
Jane Hutcheon's connection to China goes back more than one hundred and fifty years, when her great-great-grand-uncle Phineas, a Scottish tea merchant, was drawn to its shores. When Jane became the ABC's China correspondent in 1995, she began her own journey through an ancient and intriguing culture that is undergoing rapid change.
Like learning to eat a dish of slippery braised pig's face, Jane had to learn the etiquette of reporting in China-a country where people often give interviews in lowered voices, or with a glance over their shoulders to see who might be listening. Though China has transformed itself into a heady capitalist republic, the country's new facade covers up a multitude of the same old problems. And in the lead up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the clash between new and old is more pronounced than ever.
By talking with ordinary people - a glamorous Amway couple, a traffic cop, a rubbish collector and members of the Falun Gong, among others-Jane provides intimate insights into China's radical transformation. In the process, she discovers that the real China is intense, humorous, cynical and, quite often, bizarre. Travelling with a television crew, coping with a serious bout of 'banquet intolerance' and dealing with the frustration caused by Chinese bureaucracy, Jane takes us on a bumpy ride across a country the world is fascinated with, and that everyone is dying to get their chopsticks into.
Like learning to eat a dish of slippery braised pig's face, Jane had to learn the etiquette of reporting in China-a country where people often give interviews in lowered voices, or with a glance over their shoulders to see who might be listening. Though China has transformed itself into a heady capitalist republic, the country's new facade covers up a multitude of the same old problems. And in the lead up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the clash between new and old is more pronounced than ever.
By talking with ordinary people - a glamorous Amway couple, a traffic cop, a rubbish collector and members of the Falun Gong, among others-Jane provides intimate insights into China's radical transformation. In the process, she discovers that the real China is intense, humorous, cynical and, quite often, bizarre. Travelling with a television crew, coping with a serious bout of 'banquet intolerance' and dealing with the frustration caused by Chinese bureaucracy, Jane takes us on a bumpy ride across a country the world is fascinated with, and that everyone is dying to get their chopsticks into.
- GenresChina
Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 20, 2020
We had Jane Hutcheon join our zoom book club to talk about her book, as well as her reflections on that time in China and now. It was so exciting! We had an intro then an overview of Jane’s background (which she said was very accurate!), and then she talked about her book and answered our questions. ‘China’ is so fascinating and it was so interesting hearing from someone with a personal and professional interest and experience in it. It would be so interesting to see how it has changed again since she wrote this in 2002/03. Thanks Jane!
June 21, 2016
I was surprised to find that this book was as old as it is (published in 2003) and certainly events have overtaken several of the observations that Hutcheon makes in this book. Chapters are themed and read like a documentary segment on, say, Foreign Correspondent, but it print. See my full review at
https://residentjudge.wordpress.com/2...
https://residentjudge.wordpress.com/2...
April 2, 2012
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11012352
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11012352
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews