Dancing on the Frontier

<p>This is a memoir of a year I spent off the beaten track in China. From the Pacific coast to the dusty heart of Central Asia I travelled 10000 miles through virtually every region of that vast country. My backpacking adventures were much more than just a young man���s solitary wanderings. I taught myself Mandarin so that I could communicate with anyone and everyone I came across. My book is a personal account yes but it is also reveals China through the eyes of the Chinese. I spoke to people in every part of the nation from politically-disillusioned artists in Shanghai to poverty-stricken farmers in the mountains of Tibet. As my book moves through vastly-varied encounters the reader joins me on my journey and emerges with an enriched vision of China.</p><p>A hallmark of my travels was that I sought out the lower rungs of society. You can learn a lot about a state by how it treats the people at the bottom. Away from the white heat of China���s industrial boom in areas that few foreigners ever visit I spoke with people who were gaining little and losing much because of China���s growth. However in this book I do not simply offer a clich��d account of how China���s authoritarian government is oppressing its people. My encounters were often surprising and I have tried to present all of them faithfully in my narrative. For example the priceless experience of being lectured about the Chinese Space Program by a boastful Tibetan shepherd- a man I had imagined would be fiercely opposed to Chinese rule- is one of many thought-provoking anecdotes I share with the reader.</p><p>Nico Hobhouse</p>