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Resources for Travelers to China

I'm starting to learn more about the art of traveling--learning how to enjoy the country without being overwhelmed with the logistics of traveling.  Here are some resources and some things I learned about preparing for and executing my trip to China.


Back to China! Main Menu


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​Background Information and Study

Autobiographical or Biographical
Out of the Gobi , Weijian Shan, 2019.  
         Shan describes his life as a teenager during the Cultural  Revolution             and does a lot of comparison with America as a result of his                          education in and visit to the US.
Imperial Woman, Pearl S. Buck
         Wonderful writer!  Tells the story of the Last Empress of China.  Talk             about Nero fiddling while Rome burned.
Life and Death in Shanghai, Nien Cheng, 1986.
          Thumbs up.  A must read.  A resident of Shanghai, Cheng tells the                story of her imprisonment during the cultural  revolution.
River Town, Peter Hessler.
           Peace Corps assignment in late '90's to a city on the  Yangtze River.               Later wrote for National Geographic and  is  still in China today. 
Iron & Silk, Mark Salzman, 1986.
          Very similar to River Town, but with a little more humor.  
Wild Swans:  Three Daughters of China, Jung Chang.
           I didn't care for this book.   The writing was choppy, too much                      unnecessary detail (as in "my third cousin's nephew") made it                      hard to follow .

Literature
Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Luo Guanzhong
The Four Chinese Classics:  Tao Te Ching, Analects, Chuang Tzu, Mencius,                      Edited, translated by David Hinton
Dream of Red Mansion, Cao Xueqin  

Other Non-Fiction
Confucianism:  A Very Short Introduction, Daniel K. Gardner, 2014.
        Great information.  
When China Rules the World , Martin Jacques, 2012.
          Stopped reading at Chapter 4.  Strong biases seem to be                                purpose of writing.
On China by Henry Kissinger, 2012.
         Incredible book.  Had to put it down every chapter to think  about                 what he had to say.  Incredibly sophisticated writing.  Extremely                     helpful in understanding China today.
Understanding China:  A Guide to China's Economy, History, and                 Political Culture, 3rd Edition, John Bryan Starr, 2010.
         Well, yes, statistics are dry.  Great book though.  I read the  whole                 thing.  Did you know that China has 24% of world's  population but               only 7% of its arable land?
Red Star Over China, Edgar Snow,1938, updated 1968.
         A must read.  Snow was a British journalist embedded with Mao's                 command and the book is his interviews with Mao  and descriptions           of events during the civil war.  Snow  admits that Mao edited                         everything he published.
The Dragon Throne:  China's Emperors from the Qin to the Manchu,           Jonathan Fenby.
          Well, you have to try to read at least one of these, right?
China Wakes:  The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power, Nicholas  D. Kristof   and Sheryl Wudunn, 1995.
The Cultural Revolution:  The Controversial History of Mao Zedong's  Political               Mass Movement after the Great Leap Forward,  Charles River         Editors,  no date.
The Third Revolution:  Xi Jinping and the New Chinese State,  Elizabeth C. Economy, 2018.
           Another must read.  This was a great read about the emerging                       political and economic issues faced by China today.


Fiction
Gai-jin, James Clavell
King Rat , James Clavell
Tai-Pan, James Clavell
Noble House, James Clavell
       Where was I in the '80's when he wrote these books???  Loved them, every  one of them.  So much good info about the history  of Hong Kong.
The Good Earth, Pearl S. Buck
Pavilion of Women, Pearl S. Buck
         Wonderful writer; great knowledge of China.
Shangai Girls, Lisa See
           Hmmm.  Thumb sideways as far as information about China.   
China Rich Girlfriend, Kevin Kwan
           Thumbs down as in the stupidest stuff since the Kardashians.  I stopped  reading at Chapter 2.
The Fire Maker, Peter May
           OK police/mystery novel set in China.  
Silk Road, Colin Falconer
            Great novel about a trip to the imperial court from medieval  Jerusalem.
Siddartha, Herman Hesse.
            Must read for anyone interested in Buddhism.

Documentaries/ Movies/ Videos
See Amazon prime menu for lots of video about China. 

Tubi has the 1980's mini series on Noble House with Pierce Brosnan as Struan.  The books were better, but it was fun to watch.
​




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