{"product_id":"9781479701575","title":"Dancing on the Frontier: Travels by Land through China and Tibet","description":"\u003cp\u003e'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 10,000 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.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eA 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 clichéd 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.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eNico Hobhouse'\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Xlibris UK","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47129881542896,"sku":"9781479701575","price":5.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781479701575_p0.jpg?v=1763764656","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781479701575","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}