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The Great Walk of China: Travels on Foot from Shanghai to Tibet
What kind of people would you meet if you decided to walk across the world's most populous country? The Great Walk of China is a journey into China's heartland, away from its surging coastal cities. Through surprisingly frank conversations with the people he meets along the way, the Chinese-speaking author paints a portrait of a nation struggling to come to terms with its newfound identity and its place in the world.
344 pages, Paperback
First published December 16, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 14, 2017
Travel books have never been a favorite of mine, but I had been drawn to this one by a recent 5-star Goodreads review, plus the fact that the author happens to be my publisher.
What sets this travelogue apart from others is that its focus is on the author's interactions with the people he met throughout his journey on foot (this is possible as the author speaks fluent Mandarin and reads and writes Chinese), which naturally add a spontaneous and human dimension to the places he visited.
The author makes it clear at the start that this was not a contiguous journey, but rather a series of walks that spanned six years. He could only afford to devote a few days every month to this walking project, and each time he made a fresh start at the point where he had last stopped. The direction he took was always to the west. At the end of the journey, he covered the provinces of Zhejiang, Anhui, Hubei and Sichuan with a total distance of roughly 2,000 kilometers. Almost all the villages, towns and countryside he passed through were off the beaten track - I admit that the place names are all unfamiliar to me.
Through his random and incessant conversations with people from all walks of life he met on the road, readers get a good glimpse of how the locals go about their daily lives and of their thoughts about the past, present and future. It is apparent that the author not only has a deep sense of empathy for the lower echelons of Chinese society, but is genuinely concerned about the future of the kids who have the misfortune of being denied proper education.
The bright spots of the book are descriptions of otherworldly beautiful scenery of some remote and untouched countryside stretches which, if not consciously preserved, will be trampled and wiped out by blind development.
I love this book for its humbling and inspirational qualities, for which I gave 5 stars.
What sets this travelogue apart from others is that its focus is on the author's interactions with the people he met throughout his journey on foot (this is possible as the author speaks fluent Mandarin and reads and writes Chinese), which naturally add a spontaneous and human dimension to the places he visited.
The author makes it clear at the start that this was not a contiguous journey, but rather a series of walks that spanned six years. He could only afford to devote a few days every month to this walking project, and each time he made a fresh start at the point where he had last stopped. The direction he took was always to the west. At the end of the journey, he covered the provinces of Zhejiang, Anhui, Hubei and Sichuan with a total distance of roughly 2,000 kilometers. Almost all the villages, towns and countryside he passed through were off the beaten track - I admit that the place names are all unfamiliar to me.
Through his random and incessant conversations with people from all walks of life he met on the road, readers get a good glimpse of how the locals go about their daily lives and of their thoughts about the past, present and future. It is apparent that the author not only has a deep sense of empathy for the lower echelons of Chinese society, but is genuinely concerned about the future of the kids who have the misfortune of being denied proper education.
The bright spots of the book are descriptions of otherworldly beautiful scenery of some remote and untouched countryside stretches which, if not consciously preserved, will be trampled and wiped out by blind development.
I love this book for its humbling and inspirational qualities, for which I gave 5 stars.
June 8, 2016
This frickin' goon. The premise sounds so strong! Walking from Shanghai to Tibet! But the guy is a crummy writer and traveler, and "liar" is a bit strong so I will just call him a phony.
Writer: Dude needs an editor. He just writes down every damn thing that happens on the road, interesting or not.
Traveler: he is so smug. He spends half his time being so holier-than-thou to other travelers past and future because he can speak Chinese, and half his time being holier-than-thou to these poor noble savages of China. He's careful to use the right politically correct words, but he always treats Chinese people like charming, lovable simpletons. Ugh. I'd pull out some choice quotes but then I'd have to open this book again.
Phony: I skipped ahead to the end b/c I wanted to see what happened in Tibet. Dude never gets to Tibet! The book ends with him somewhere in Sichuan, saying "well, Tibet is hard, I'll just eventually get to the edge of Tibet within Sichuan province and call it a day." (and he never even gets there!) I mean, can't blame him, walking across Tibet is hard, but then call your book "Travels on foot from Shanghai to Sichuan!" AND, this isn't all in one go - he heads out for a weekend to the last place he stopped, walks some more, and heads back to Shanghai. Again, can't blame him - doing this all in one go would be nuts - but it still feels a bit like a false promise.
Writer: Dude needs an editor. He just writes down every damn thing that happens on the road, interesting or not.
Traveler: he is so smug. He spends half his time being so holier-than-thou to other travelers past and future because he can speak Chinese, and half his time being holier-than-thou to these poor noble savages of China. He's careful to use the right politically correct words, but he always treats Chinese people like charming, lovable simpletons. Ugh. I'd pull out some choice quotes but then I'd have to open this book again.
Phony: I skipped ahead to the end b/c I wanted to see what happened in Tibet. Dude never gets to Tibet! The book ends with him somewhere in Sichuan, saying "well, Tibet is hard, I'll just eventually get to the edge of Tibet within Sichuan province and call it a day." (and he never even gets there!) I mean, can't blame him, walking across Tibet is hard, but then call your book "Travels on foot from Shanghai to Sichuan!" AND, this isn't all in one go - he heads out for a weekend to the last place he stopped, walks some more, and heads back to Shanghai. Again, can't blame him - doing this all in one go would be nuts - but it still feels a bit like a false promise.
Currently reading
January 25, 2016How can I objectively review a book written by someone I know and work with? I'm reading this book at a long, slow pace, and finding this to be a memoir, a set of experiences I can easily relate to.
I'm a third of the way through....will continue picking this up and down as I'm in the mood for it.....but am reading it not because I feel obligated to do so...but because I want to!!
I'm a third of the way through....will continue picking this up and down as I'm in the mood for it.....but am reading it not because I feel obligated to do so...but because I want to!!
November 4, 2014
enjoyable book for me, filled with bits of humor and dashes of daily life
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews