China Road: A Journey into the Future of a Rising Power | 
 enlarge | Author: Rob Gifford
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $17.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  55 reviews
Sales Rank: 2573
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.2 x 0.8
ISBN: 0812975243
Dewey Decimal Number: 951.06
EAN: 9780812975246
ASIN: 0812975243
Publication Date: June 3, 2008
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Product Description
Route 312 is the Chinese Route 66. It flows three thousand miles from east to west, passing through the factory towns of the coastal areas, through the rural heart of China, then up into the Gobi Desert, where it merges with the Old Silk Road. The highway witnesses every part of the social and economic revolution that is turning China upside down.
In this utterly surprising and deeply personal book, acclaimed National Public Radio reporter Rob Gifford, a fluent Mandarin speaker, takes the dramatic journey along Route 312 from its start in the boomtown of Shanghai to its end on the border with Kazakhstan. Gifford reveals the rich mosaic of modern Chinese life in all its contradictions, as he poses the crucial questions that all of us are asking about China: Will it really be the next global superpower? Is it as solid and as powerful as it looks from the outside? And who are the ordinary Chinese people, to whom the twenty-first century is supposed to belong?
Gifford is not alone on his journey. The largest migration in human history is taking place along highways such as Route 312, as tens of millions of people leave their homes in search of work. He sees signs of the booming urban economy everywhere, but he also uncovers many of the country’s frailties, and some of the deep-seated problems that could derail China’s rise.
The whole compelling adventure is told through the cast of colorful characters Gifford meets: garrulous talk-show hosts and ambitious yuppies, impoverished peasants and tragic prostitutes, cell-phone salesmen, AIDS patients, and Tibetan monks. He rides with members of a Shanghai jeep club, hitchhikes across the Gobi desert, and sings karaoke with migrant workers at truck stops along the way.
As he recounts his travels along Route 312, Rob Gifford gives a face to what has historically, for Westerners, been a faceless country and breathes life into a nation that is so often reduced to economic statistics. Finally, he sounds a warning that all is not well in the Chinese heartlands, that serious problems lie ahead, and that the future of the West has become inextricably linked with the fate of 1.3 billion Chinese people.
“Informative, delightful, and powerfully moving . . . Rob Gifford’s acute powers of observation, his sense of humor and adventure, and his determination to explore the wrenching dilemmas of China’s explosive development open readers’ eyes and reward their minds.”
–Robert A. Kapp, president, U.S.-China Business Council, 1994-2004
From the Hardcover edition.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 50 more reviews...
 Great balanced of view on China August 10, 2008
A must read during these times when China is in the news every day. The best balanced view of what is going on there.
China 101: If You Don't Know Much About China This Gets You Started! August 10, 2008
I was initially intrigued with the China "road trip" concept that is the backbone ofthe book. The narrative about the trip was fantastic. You are drawn into the sights and sounds of places far removed from Shanghai and Beijing and his interactions with real Chinese people from throughout the country and very insightful.
Mr. Gifford does a great job of explaining why things might be the way they are in China based on historical and cultural reasons. If you don't know much about key pieces of Chinese history not only does he provide background information, but links it to understanding China today.
I was completely naive as to some of China's practices regarding their one child policy and found this very disturbing. This and the corruption that runs rampant throughout the country is very troubling in terms of quality of life for Chinese people. You come to empathize with their situation and perhaps gain a better understanding as to why they are as determined as they are for economic growth.
Five stars for both a great journey and an informative look at where China is today, why it is the way it is, and some interesting perspectives on what the future may hold. Read it!!
this is the real China August 9, 2008
When I saw that the author worked for PBS, I thought propaganda, red flag, don't buy, etc. Well I bought it anyway, and was glad I did. Gifford does a great job painting contemporary China on a printed page. Gifford, obviously identifies with the Chinese, but he hasn't gone completely native. His ability to speak Chinese opens doors and allows him to relate the thoughts of ordinary Chinese and minorities living in 'China' to the reader. Here is my perspective: I loved Paul Theroux's RIDING THE RED ROOSTER. Theroux rode the trains, while Gifford travels by road. Theroux wrote about some of the obnoxious habits of the Chinese, like spitting and seeing all Caucasians as big nosed White devils. Gifford has not wrote that yet (I'm 2/3 through the book). Also, Gibbon's gives more in terms of historical background to bring the reader up to speed. So like Theroux, but different; but destined to be a classic. A great book which brings the reader up to speed relative to contemporary China. Strongly recommended.
 Shows a lot, tells too much July 28, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
For me, this book raised the perennial writers' struggle between showing vs. telling. I wish Gifford would have done less of the latter. When he presents characters and situations, the book can be downright powerful. But then he waters it down with what I think is way too much of him giving his own opinion about China, at which time the material slides into shallowness or possibly (I wonder) personal bias. I'd give this book 10 stars if Gifford would have let it really be about China, as opposed to his having forced China to share the stage with himself.
Audio version of "China Road" combines best aspects of memoir, news reporting July 22, 2008
Some of the most compelling nonfiction
audiobooks produced for American listeners
today are about China. They tend to fit into two
categories -- the personal memoir, such as Peter
Hessler's "River Town: Two Years on the
Yangtze," and the fact-driven, such as Ted
Fishman's "China Inc." Both of these are
excellent works filled with fascinating nuggets
for anyone with an interest in China. But one
audiobook that outdoes them both is Rob
Gifford's "China Road" (Blackstone, 9 CDs,
2007), which combines the best aspects of
memoir and news reporting. I liked it so much
that I listened to it twice, a few months apart.
Before writing the book, Gifford had been
visiting China for 20 years and working there for
six years as a journalist. Planning to leave China
for Europe, he decided to make one long last
journey, a two-month trip of 3000 miles from
east to west along China's route 312, the
"people's road." He did it the slow way, by
hitchhiking on trucks, taking local trains, and
sometimes hiring a driver. With his fluent
Mandarin and his in-depth knowledge of Chinese
laws, customs, history and geography, he
becomes an imbedded observer who reports
accurately and thoroughly, but always with a
touch of humor.
As he quickly points out, China is not a country
but an empire. It encompasses one-fifth of
humanity, with a multitude of ethnic groups and
languages. Because the setting changes so
frequently throughout the journey, you could
listen to the CDs in any order without losing
much. Gifford says there's hardly anything about
China that isn't interesting, then proves it. He
meets enthusiastic and successful Amway sales
reps in the middle of the Gobi Desert. He sees a
truck broken down by the side of the road, but
his driver keeps going because of "the first rule
in China: don't get involved." Horse races are
popular but betting is illegal. No problem: you
can place your money on a "guess." Cell phone
salesmen do a thriving business all along the old
Silk Road route because there's perfect reception,
and everyone wants a phone.
China, says Gifford, is 30 years behind the U.S.
militarily; it spends $50 billion a year compared
to $400 billion. But far more significant, he says,
is the speedy change that is shaking up Chinese
society. Up to 200 million Chinese have left their
home towns in search of a better life -- the
largest migration in history. The greatest danger
to China's future, he believes, is pollution: of the
world's 20 most polluted cities, 16 are in China.
There's a chronic water shortage, and many of
China's rivers are dangerously contaminated.
Other negatives: Chinese women have the highest
suicide rate in the world; it's the leading cause of
death for Chinese women age 18 to 34. There is
an AIDS crisis, especially in Hunan province,
stemming from the extraction and sale of blood.
But the authorities simply try to cover it up. The
whole society, according to Gifford, is shot
through with corruption, which comes from local
officials, not big politicians. For example, trucks
are often stopped for speeding, but the fines can
range widely, so that police officers can pocket
most of the money without needing to report it.
The author says that China cannot be both an
empire and a democracy. That might explain
some of the contradictions that he confronts by
questioning his subjects to the point of
discomfort. He interviews a woman who
performs abortions on other women who are eight
months pregnant, and asks how she can reconcile
her role as a mother and a health professional by
killing fully formed babies. He interviews a
young Tibetan whose parents forced him to grow
up speaking only Mandarin at home in order to
improve his job prospects. He now teaches
Chinese to Tibetans, and the author probes to
find how the man feels about aiding the
conquerors.
Near the end of his journey, Gifford lands in
Urumchi, a very modern, high-tech capital, which
is farther from the ocean than any other city in
the world. A century ago, it took 45 days for a
letter to get from there to Beijing, and that was
considered fast. In the last 15 years, its
population has grown from 300,000 to 1.5 million
in 15 years. He marvels that it is almost
unrecognizable from the city he had seen only a
short time before. It's located in Xinjiang,
China's fastest-growing region for foreign trade.
Gifford's trip, and route 312, end in Korgaz, a
forlorn little town across the border from
Kazakhstan. Like the author, I didn't want the
road to end.
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