Discover new books on Goodreads
Meet your next favorite book
Sign in with Facebook
It's hot and humid, tempers burn quick and high and its seas have been a source of political contention and war for centuries. Combined with a growing number of factories in the region, numerous drug-trafficking villages and rampant prostitution, South China sets a unique storytelling backdrop that stands far apart from all the multitudes of books about Hong Kong, Shanghai or Beijing.
This list hosts the best fiction and nonfiction books set in Southern China - primarily in the Pearl River Delta region of Guangdong province - including any books about Canton and Cantonese culture, and possibly including Hunan, but EXCLUDING Hong Kong and Macau (of which there already is another popular list for) unless a significant portion of the story takes place on the mainland side of the border.
This list hosts the best fiction and nonfiction books set in Southern China - primarily in the Pearl River Delta region of Guangdong province - including any books about Canton and Cantonese culture, and possibly including Hunan, but EXCLUDING Hong Kong and Macau (of which there already is another popular list for) unless a significant portion of the story takes place on the mainland side of the border.
Score
A book’s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book.
| 1 |
|
South China Morning Blues
by
Ray Hecht (Goodreads Author)
3.92 avg rating — 63 ratings
score: 799,
and
8 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 2 |
|
Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China
by
3.93 avg rating — 9,533 ratings
score: 491,
and
5 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 3 |
|
Adventure, romance and war in the Far East: The Iris Hay-Edie Diary: A historical memoir
by
4.27 avg rating — 162 ratings
score: 200,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 4 |
|
Pearl River Drama: Dating in China - A Memoir
by
Ray Hecht (Goodreads Author)
3.44 avg rating — 27 ratings
score: 197,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 4 |
|
Pearl of China
by
3.86 avg rating — 8,582 ratings
score: 197,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 6 |
|
White Ghost Girls
by
3.27 avg rating — 1,178 ratings
score: 188,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 7 |
|
How Does One Dress to Buy Dragonfruit? True Stories of Expat Women in Asia
by
4.21 avg rating — 76 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 7 |
|
Asia's Cauldron: The South China Sea and the End of a Stable Pacific
by
3.95 avg rating — 2,950 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 7 |
|
China's Wings: War, Intrigue, Romance, and Adventure in the Middle Kingdom During the Golden Age of Flight
by
Gregory Crouch (Goodreads Author)
4.35 avg rating — 222 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 7 |
|
A-Ma Alchemy of Love (AoL Mindfulness, #1)
by
Nataša Pantović (Goodreads Author)
4.05 avg rating — 58 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 7 |
|
Mandarin Preferred
by
it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 7 |
|
Whispering Shadows (The Rising Dragon, #1)
by
Jan-Philipp Sendker (Goodreads Author)
3.67 avg rating — 2,206 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 13 |
|
Unsavory Elements: Stories of Foreigners on the Loose in China
by
Tom Carter (Editor)
3.59 avg rating — 198 ratings
score: 99,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 13 |
|
At Least We Lived : The Unlikely Adventures of an English Couple in World War II China
by
Emma Oxford (Goodreads Author)
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 8 ratings
score: 99,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 13 |
|
A Businessman's Guide to the Wholesale Markets of Guangzhou
by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 7 ratings
score: 99,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 13 |
|
The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane
by
Lisa See (Goodreads Author)
4.29 avg rating — 122,867 ratings
score: 99,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 17 |
|
Asian Godfathers
by
3.96 avg rating — 810 ratings
score: 98,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 17 |
|
A Dictionary of Maqiao
by
4.03 avg rating — 450 ratings
score: 98,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 17 |
|
Bang Hong Kong
by
it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings
score: 98,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 20 |
|
Middle Kingdom Underground: Short Stories From the People's Republic of
by
3.44 avg rating — 9 ratings
score: 97,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 20 |
|
Country Driving: A Chinese Road Trip
by
4.26 avg rating — 8,050 ratings
score: 97,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 20 |
|
Poorly Made in China: An Insider's Account of the China Production Game
by
Paul Midler (Goodreads Author)
4.09 avg rating — 2,428 ratings
score: 97,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 23 |
|
Cantonese Culture: Aspects of Life in Modern Hong Kong and Southeast Asia
by
3.21 avg rating — 14 ratings
score: 96,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 24 |
|
Whispers and Moans: Interviews with the men and women of Hong Kong's sex industry
by
3.88 avg rating — 42 ratings
score: 95,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 25 |
|
Tai-Pan (Asian Saga, #2)
by
4.31 avg rating — 58,034 ratings
score: 94,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 26 |
|
Candy
by
3.30 avg rating — 1,660 ratings
score: 92,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 27 |
|
The China Price: The True Cost of Chinese Competitive Advantage
by
3.71 avg rating — 386 ratings
score: 91,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 28 |
|
Shenzhen: A Travelogue from China
by
3.73 avg rating — 9,339 ratings
score: 90,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 29 |
|
Eating Smoke: One Man's Descent Into Crystal Meth Psychosis in Hong Kong's Triad Heartland
by
Chris Thrall (Goodreads Author)
3.60 avg rating — 772 ratings
score: 89,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 30 |
|
The Piano Teacher
by
3.36 avg rating — 23,772 ratings
score: 87,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 31 |
|
The Honourable Schoolboy (George Smiley, #6; Karla Trilogy, #2)
by
3.99 avg rating — 25,659 ratings
score: 86,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 32 |
|
Love in a Fallen City
by
3.94 avg rating — 4,414 ratings
score: 85,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 33 |
|
A Many-Splendoured Thing
by
3.81 avg rating — 567 ratings
score: 84,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 34 |
|
Gweilo: Memories of a Hong Kong Childhood
by
4.19 avg rating — 2,144 ratings
score: 83,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 35 |
|
Fragrant Harbour
by
3.81 avg rating — 2,141 ratings
score: 82,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
Tags:
asia, asian, canton, cantonese, china, chinese, dongguan, drugs, factories, fiction, guangdong, guangxi, guangzhou, hainan, hong-kong, macau, memoirs, non-fiction, novels, pearl-river-delta, prd, prostitution, shenzhen, south-china, south-china-sea, southern-china
Related News
Need another excuse to treat yourself to a new book this week? We've got you covered with the buzziest new releases of the day, according to early...
Anyone can add books to this list.
How to Vote
To vote on existing books from the list, beside each book there is a link vote for this book clicking it will add that book to your votes.
To vote on books not in the list or books you couldn't find in the list, you can click on the tab add books to this list and then choose from your books, or simply search.
