What is it like to radically change your life? Writer Alec Ash meets the Chinese who are doing just this, ‘reverse migrating’ from the cities to the remote countryside of southwest China — and joins them himself, in an extraordinary and inspiring journey of self-discovery.In 2020, Alec Ash left behind his old life as a journalist in buzzy Beijing, and moved to Dali, a rural valley in China’s Yunnan province, centred around a great lake shaped like an ear and overlo...

Anyone who has lived in China has stories to tell. For foreigners and Chinese alike, this is a land that transforms itself every day, with something to write about on every corner. Collected in this anthology are 33 contributions, a mix of narrative non-fiction, fiction and poetry, from the writers' colony the Anthill (theanthill.org). Together, they offer glimpses into this quicksilver country-by turns funny, touching and bizarre. Whether we stay or leave, the stories remain.

What is it like to radically change your life? Writer Alec Ash meets the Chinese who are doing just this, ‘reverse migrating’ from the cities to the remote countryside of southwest China ? and joins them himself, in an extraordinary and inspiring journey of self-discovery.In 2020, Alec Ash left behind his old life as a journalist in buzzy Beijing, and moved to Dali, a rural valley in China’s Yunnan province, centred around a great lake shaped like an ear and overlooked by the Cang ...

OUT NOW IN PAPERBACK: Moonlight Express, Monisha Rajesh's journey around the world by sleeper train'Monisha Rajesh has chosen one of the best ways of seeing the world. Never too fast, never too slow, her journey does what trains do best. Getting to the heart of things. Prepare for a very fine ride' Michael PalinFrom the cloud-skimming heights of Tibet's Qinghai railway to silk-sheeted splendour on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express,...

Riding the subway, pulling into a new station, we've all had the thought: What if I just got off here? What's up there?SEOUL SUB-URBAN seeks to answer those questions, visiting subway stations across the Korean capital and looking at the surrounding areas from a perspective that combines the fresh eyes of an outsider with the understanding of longtime resident. It travels to traditional markets, ancient historical sites, Industrial zones, and the city's hippest neighborhoods, en ro...

The bestselling author of The Sex Lives of Cannibals returns with a sharply observed, hilarious account of his adventures in China—a complex, fascinating country with enough dangers and delicacies to keep him, and readers, endlessly entertained.Maarten Troost has charmed legions of readers with his laugh-out-loud tales of wandering the remote islands of the South Pacific. When the travel bug hit again, he decided to go big-time, taking on the world’s most ...

A NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • The moving story of an undocumented child living in poverty in the richest country in the world—an incandescent debut from an astonishing new talent • A TODAY SHOW #READWITHJENNA PICKIn Chinese, the word for America, Mei Guo, translates directly to “beautiful country.” Yet when seven-year-old Qian arrives in New York City in 1994 full of curiosity, she is overwhelmed by crushing fear and scarcity. In China, Qian’s parents wer...

A New York Times Notable book, this memoir by a journalist who lived in a small city in China is "a vivid and touching tribute to a place and its people" ( Kirkus Reviews, starred review).In the heart of China's Sichuan province, amid the terraced hills of the Yangtze River valley, lies the remote town of Fuling. Like many other small cities in this ever-evolving country, Fuling is heading down a new path of change and growth, which came into remar...

"John Dwyer might be just the ticket to fill [Michael] Palin's well worn shoes" - HungryFeet.comOverland adventurer John Dwyer has less than three months to cross China, Tibet, Nepal and India and he has a to-do list:- Drink snake blood- Get smuggled into Tibet- Hike to Mount Everest- Watch the dead burning by the Ganges- Get from China to India in ten weeksFrom the Great Wall of China to the Taj Mahal, his journey takes ...

A boldly rendered—and deeply intimate—account of Hong Kong today, from a resilient young woman whose stories explore what it means to survive in a city teeming with broken promises.“[A] pulsing debut . . . about what it means to find your place in a city as it vanishes before your eyes.”—The New York Times Book ReviewONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Washington PostHong Kong is known as a plac...

In the tradition of The Concubine's Children and Paper Shadows, a probing memoir from the author of the acclaimed novel Midnight at the Dragon Cafe.An elegant and surprising book about a Chinese family's difficult arrival in Canada, and a daughter's search to understand remarkable and terrible truths about her parents' past lives.Growing up in her father's hand laundry in small town Ontario, Judy Fong Bates listened to stories of ...

Intrepid Japan is your immersive guide to the rich culture of Japan, whether you're a first-time explorer or a seasoned traveller. Whether it's an introduction to the country, or a chance to explore new places and experiences, this guide is not just a checklist of things to do, but instead offers insight into the tapestry of things that make Japan amazing – brimming with tradition, mouth-watering culinary experiences, pop culture excursions, museums and shrines, craft mast...