China Road

A Journey into the Future of a Rising Power

By: Rob Gifford

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

National Public Radio's Beijing correspondent Rob Gifford recounts his travels along Route 312, the Chinese Mother Road, the longest route in the world's most populous nation. Based on his successful NPR radio series, China Road draws on Gifford's 20 years of observing first-hand this rapidly transforming country, as he travels east to west, from Shanghai to China's border with Kazakhstan. As he takes listeners on this journey, he also takes them through China's past and present while he tries to make sense of this complex nation's potential future.

©2007 Robert Gifford (P)2007 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Brilliant Underview of China

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I was so sad when this book ended that I had to play it again. Rob Gifford was a China based journalist so he can sniff out a story. He started out across National Road 312 with a few contacts in his cell phone but no master plan. This allowed him to be open to those he encountered such as a Daoist Monk, in a remote cave who surprised him by coming out in shorts and a tank top and who gave him his cell phone number for future contact. Really!
The old sins of gambling,prostitution, and drug abuse have crept back into the country where they where once eradicated by deadly force. China,today,might be compared to the Robber Baron era in America. The wealthy get wealthier and the peons work extremely hard to maintain their tenuous existence.

It probably helps if you have been to China to really appreciate this book, but Mr. Gifford does an admirable job of creating an excellent picture of the land. His predictions for the future are couched in" maybes" but the future is left up to God.

What did you like best about this story?

Maybe the funniest story(but true) was about the author's attendance at an Amway meeting which is like one might have been in America 30 years ago and still exists in a variety of forms for"magnificent nutraceuticals". The head of the organization does actually have more cars than he can drive and a big house and a maid. Everyone else doesn't realize that their hard work is paying to it!

Have you listened to any of Simon Vance’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no, but he is an excellent narrator, and I wish he would read Peter the Great since I had to return that book due to the narration.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

In Hunan province, 20 years ago,farmers and their families began selling their plasma or extra cash. The needles were probably not clean and the blood all went into a common vat. the cells were returned to the donor's bodies, but the cells were all mixed up so if a person without HIV got CD4 cells that were infected, they suddenly had a retrovirus that could kill them with AIDS. They did in massive numbers. The government tried to cover it up, but the survivors now get a minuscule pension. Ugly.

Excellent – exceeded my expectations

An excellent book made even better with an excellent narration. This book was everything I wanted and more. I have a high degree of interest in China and this book has been extremely helpful and enjoyable. The author and narrator combine to make this book a very pleasant experience.

Very Engaging - Highly Recommended

If you are interested in contemporary China, this book is for you. This is not your usual travelogue. Although Gifford can provide a few good travel stories a la Paul Theroux or some other travel writer (e.g., a fascinating story about attending an Amway meeting in a remote frontier town), his travels are more an opportunity for him to explore the social - cultural - political issues that underpin contemporary China. I found his analyses to be thoughtful, insightful and very interesting. For example, what impact did the humiliating intrusions by the colonial powers starting around the 1850's have on the current Chinese psyche? Or, even though 100's of millions of Chinese have been lifted out of poverty by recent economic development, what does it mean that 100's of millions of people still struggle to eek out a living? Or, what lays ahead for the millions of non-Han minority Chinese living in West and Southwest China who do not want to be a part of the "Chinese Empire?" Well written, well narrated, well worth a listen.

Tom Dorsey President Dorsey, Wright & Assoc.

This is a magnificant book. If you are in business of any sort it's a must read especially if you work on Wall Street. Simon Vance is the best there is at reading a book. He is an added plus to listening to this book verses reading it. One of the best I have read yet.

great reporting on china

people really need to keep an eye on our world to understand the day to day problems and to lose focus on what is going on with other countries is a fool.

Excellent!

The author knows what he is talking about. He has deep understanding of China and a sympathetic yet balanced analysis of today's China. The narrator is superb as well. Get this book , you won't be disappointed.

Interesting Book

Where does China Road rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In the middle.

What other book might you compare China Road to and why?

Lost on Planet China

Have you listened to any of Simon Vance’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

First time listener to Simon Vance.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No

Any additional comments?

I have just moved to China and found the book very interesting. After listening to the author journey through China, there are many places he visited, I hope to visit while living here in China.

great book

it feels as you had traveled china with the author. You feel what china is like. Listen to the end.

Informative and reflective

While not riveting, this was still an interesting listen. The narrator projected the reflective nature of the book. It definitely provided some interesting context about China, it's many regions and people. This was an original approach for shedding light about China's past, present and potential future.

Great 'Edu-tainment'

A Surpsing Find. Entertaining and educational. The sample didn't sound so great, but the book is.
If you want to learn about contemporary China, this is a great one.