From the acclaimed author of River Town comes a rare and authentic portrait -- both intimate and epic -- of twenty-first century China as it opens its doors to the world

This text presents an account of American aid worker Peter Hessler's time spent in the town of Fuling on the Yangtze River during the late 1990s, a time of great change for China. He observes the natural beauty of the area and shares the lives of the local people. He directs a production of Hamlet and runs in the town marathon. He also discusses how national and international events such as the construction of the Three Gorges Dam and the return of Hong Kong to the mainland affected the people of Fuling.

In the summer of 2001, Peter Hessler acquired his Chinese driver's license. For the next seven years he travelled the country, tracking how the automobile and the improved transport system were transforming China. Here, Hessler writes of everyday people who have reshaped the country.

An intimate excavation of life in one of the world's oldest civilizations at a time of convulsive change

'Memorable... One of [China's] most astute and sensitive foreign observers' Financial Times 'Compassionate... full of warmth' Guardian More than twenty years after teaching English to China's first boom generation at a small college in Sichuan Province, Peter Hessler returned to teach the next generation. At the same time, Hessler's twin daughters became the only Westerners in a student body of about two thousand in their local primary school. Through reconnecting with his previous students now in their forties - members of China's "Reform generation" - and teaching his current...