{"id":4667,"date":"2017-11-03T16:51:34","date_gmt":"2017-11-03T16:51:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/?p=4667"},"modified":"2017-11-27T10:51:50","modified_gmt":"2017-11-27T10:51:50","slug":"8-books-to-read-before-travelling-to-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/china\/8-books-to-read-before-travelling-to-china\/","title":{"rendered":"8 books to read before travelling to China"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s true that China can be an overwhelming destination. There\u2019s that hefty 5,000-year history to get to grips with, and because much of China\u2019s development happened completely independently of the West, the culture is very different from home. Oh, and it\u2019s big!<\/p>\n

Whilst you\u2019re going to need to explore for yourself to really grasp the quirks and complexities of this epic nation, a little background reading makes for a great base to build your knowledge and fend off any culture shock.<\/p>\n

Here is a quick guide to the 8 books we recommend to do just that.<\/p>\n

\"Wild<\/p>\n

Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China<\/em> Jung Chang<\/h3>\n

Classification:<\/strong> Biography
\nFirst published:<\/strong> 1991
\nFocus:<\/strong> History, politics, everyday life
\nQuick overview:<\/strong> Tells the story of three generations of women living in China over a 100 year period. Starting with the author\u2019s grandmother growing up in imperial China it looks at what life was like during 20th century China including the rise of the Communist Party, the Cultural Revolution and the death of Chairman Mao.<\/p>\n

\"Riding<\/p>\n

Riding the Iron Rooster: By Train Through China<\/em> Paul Theroux<\/h3>\n

Classification:<\/strong> Non-fiction, Travel
\nFirst published:<\/strong> 1988
\nFocus:<\/strong> Culture, experience, travel
\nQuick overview:<\/strong> Documents Paul Theroux\u2019s travels through China in the 1980s. Through his many conversations with locals he meets on his travels he writes about China before and China now and his impressions of both.<\/p>\n

\"River<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze<\/em> Peter Hessler<\/h3>\n

Classification:<\/strong> Non-fiction, Travel
\nFirst published:<\/strong> 2001
\nFocus:<\/strong> Culture, experience, memoir
\nQuick overview:<\/strong> Hessler spent two years teaching English in the small city of Fuling on the Yangtze River. This book is an account of his life there, learning the language, getting to know the local people and seeing the city go through great change due to China\u2019s development in the late 90s.<\/p>\n

\"Soul<\/p>\n

Soul Mountain<\/em> Gao Xingjian<\/h3>\n

Classification:<\/strong> Novel, translation
\nFirst published:<\/strong> 1990
\nFocus:<\/strong> Culture, experience, travel
\nQuick overview:<\/strong> Loosely based on the experiences of the author, the novel tells the story of a man journeying through rural China, on the search for the sacred mountain Lingshan, and the people that he meets en route. The author draws on folk tales and legend to weave his tale.<\/p>\n

\"Age<\/p>\n

Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth and Faith in the New China<\/em> Evan Osnos<\/h3>\n

Classification:<\/strong> Non-fiction
\nFirst published:<\/strong> 2014
\nFocus:<\/strong> Politics, culture
\nQuick overview:<\/strong> This book chronicles Osnos\u2019, a writer for The New Yorker, experience of living in China between 2005 and 2013. Using the lives of people he knew and people he interviewed, it looks at the economic, political and social change in China and how it affected the lives of ordinary people.<\/p>\n

\"Mao's<\/p>\n

Mao\u2019s Great Famine<\/em> Frank Dikotter<\/h3>\n

Classification:<\/strong> Non-fiction
\nFirst published:<\/strong> 2010
\nFocus:<\/strong> History, politics
\nQuick overview:<\/strong> A thoroughly researched piece on the Great Chinese Famine that argues that Mao\u2019s Great Leap Forward caused the deaths of 45 million people and documents the lives of the ordinary people during this time.<\/p>\n

\"Out<\/p>\n

Out of Mao\u2019s Shadow<\/em> Philip P Pan<\/h3>\n

Classification:<\/strong> Non-fiction
\nFirst published:<\/strong> 2008
\nFocus:<\/strong> Politics, modern history
\nQuick overview:<\/strong> This book examines the transition of China into a global power and looks at the struggles between the ruling Communist Party and the ordinary people who are trying to build a more open, fair and democratic country.<\/p>\n

\"Red<\/p>\n

Red Star Over China<\/em> Edgar Snow<\/h3>\n

Classification:<\/strong> Non-fiction
\nFirst published:<\/strong> 1937
\nFocus:<\/strong> History, politics
\nQuick overview:<\/strong> This book is an examination of China\u2019s Communists in the years before they came to power. Edgar Snow spent time with the Red Army and was the first Westerner to meet Mao, and his account is one of the most influential on the Western understanding of China.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Brochure<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Book an escorted tour to China with the UK’s leading Asia Experts, Wendy Wu Tours. Our fully inclusive\u00a0tours visit all the major sights of your chosen destination and introduce you to the local culture, making for an unforgettable holiday.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

We also have tours\u00a0to Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, India, Japan and beyond\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s true that China can be an overwhelming destination.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":4658,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[21,122,20,72,121],"class_list":["post-4667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-china","tag-culture","tag-good-reads","tag-history","tag-literature","tag-politics"],"yoast_head":"\n8 books to read before travelling to China<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A list of the eight books we, Wendy Wu Tours the China experts, recommend reading before embarking on an adventure to China!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/china\/8-books-to-read-before-travelling-to-china\/\" \/>\n<meta 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