Rob Gifford

A travelogue from the journey made along Route 312- sort of Chinese Route 66- from Shanghai to Kazakhstan’s border, chronicling the changes the post Mao communist regime and globalization have brought to the country. Gifford made the trip east to west and through the Gobi desert along the former Silk Road the way the locals do- mostly by bus, hailed truck, carpooling with others, or by taxi. On the way, he spoke to ordinary people he met: truck drivers, restaurant owners, fellow bus show more passengers, all of them sometimes able to explain the social phenomena better than many scholars or political analysts.
It sure helps that Gifford speaks fluent Mandarin and has spent the last twenty years on and off in China, first as a student and then most of the last five years as a reporter for British NPR.

It’s a great book full of nice, clear insights and good basic background information. Gifford explains China very well, and has an ability to succinctly connect what’s happening in it right now to its political and cultural heritage. His writing is good, easy going, and unpretentious- it’s one of those books you hate to finish.

I wrote down a quote that I liked early on, even before I decided to buy the book- so here it is to give you a taste of it:

‘After the killing of the students in Tianamen Square in 1989, the Communist Party leaders made an unspoken deal with the people of China: stay out of politics and you can do anything you want. During the 1990s, for the first time in more than forty years (or perhaps four thousand), the Chinese government began to retreat from people’s everyday lives.
This was a very clever move by the Party. The tiny birdcage in which Chinese people had previously lived became an aviary. You cannot yet fly up into a clear blue sky and they can still catch you if they want to, but there is plenty of room to fly around.
First of all, yes, there is a consumer boom, but the majority of people have no access to it. If in the United States you need money to get power, in China you need power to get money.” P.15 show less

NPR Correspondent's road trip on China's route 66 is illuminating for the western reader, given our lack of exposure to China's long history and civilization. Gifford masterfully combines enough imformation about China's past to give an understanding of the extensive migration and rapid industrialization that has catapulted the sleeping giant into a major economic power. The narrative of his journey weaves interviews with ordinary citizens, from truckdrivers to the new yuppie elite becoming show more Communist party stalwarts, with descriptions of local culture and place, such as karoke bars and AIDS afflicted farming villages, leaving a stunning array of vistas and perspectives for the reader's contemplation. Eye-opening! show less

China Road (2007) is a remarkably insightful travel memoir. As Gifford traveled the length of National Road 312 from east to west, he compares it to American Route 66 of the early 20th century, where migrants traveled to the promises of California. In China's case it's Shanghai. Unlike many travel writers, Gifford didn't helicopter in for a 14-day trip for the purpose of writing a book, rather he studied China in school, speaks the language, and lived there for 6 years as a reporter, his show more insights are deep and well informed from experience.

China is so vast it is hard to contemplate. As I zoomed in with a gods-eyed view using Google Earth, following Gifford's trek along Route 312, I saw how every square mile of China is densely populated, an ocean of peasants and farmland. Referring to it as a country in the way we speak of Mexico or England is deceiving, it has more people than all of the 40+ countries in Europe PLUS all the countries in South America combined. In terms of people it is a large continent, yet operates as a single nation. In the end Gifford has a somewhat pessimistic view about China's future. The next 10-20 years will be key as a new generation born post-1960 take charge. Will they be able to maintain growth (peace) while allowing for more individual freedom, all the while holding a vast population together as a single nation? There are many contradictions. China Road is a great book on many levels and highly recommend, in particular in combination with Google Earth, both of which have totally changed my perceptions about China, although as Gifford says, anyone who says they understand China does not understand China - it is a dynamic place that constantly rewards new study and learning.

--Review by Stephen Balbach, via CoolReading (c) 2010 cc-by-nd show less

China Road details Rob Giffords' trip along China's 3,000 mile Route 312. He begins in Shanghai, and hitchhikes, buses and cabs his way across the country to the Kazahkstani border.

Gifford spent six years as NPR's Beijing correspondent, and knows the country and language well. His journey shows readers China's immense geographic, ethnic and cultural diversity. His experiences on the trip also demonstrate the tension between the country's rapid economic development and the continuing show more rigidity of its political system, and the environmental devastation and huge gaps in living standards that have resulted from China's economic growth.

This book provides a very personal look at a fascinating and complicated country. Gifford feels strongly about China and its people, and his passion is contagious. His camaraderie with the farmers, truck drivers, salesmen, and monks he visits, his affection and admiration for China's spiritual and cultural heritage and those who are trying to preserve it, and his horror on meeting a doctor who performs forced abortions to enforce the one child policy, bring the story and the country vividly to life.

This is a very interesting and thought-provoking book, and I highly recommend it for anyone interested in China and its place in the world. show less