The River at the Center of the World A Journey Up the Yangtze, and Back in Chinese Time

by Winchester, Simon

• ISBN13: 9780312423377
• ISBN10: 0312423373
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-04-01
• Publisher: Picador

Summary

Rising in the mountains of the Tibetan border, the symbolic heart of China pierces 3,900 miles of rugged country before debouching into the oily swells of the East China Sea. Connecting China's heartland cities with the volatile coastal giant, Shanghai, it has also historically connected China to the outside world through its nearly one thousand miles of navigable waters. To travel those waters is to travel back in history, to sense the soul of China, and Simon Winchester takes us along with him as he encounters the essence of China--its history and politics, its geography and climate as well as engage in its culture, and its people in remote and almost inaccessible places. This is travel writing at its best: lively, informative, and thoroughly enchanting.

Author Biography

Simon Winchester is the author of The Professor and the Madman, The Map That Changed the World, and Krakatoa, among many other titles. He lives in Massachusetts, New York City, and the Western Isles of Scotland.

Table of Contents

In Gratitude	p. ix
Author's Note	p. xv
Prelude	p. 1
The Plan	p. 7
The Mouth, Open Wide	p. 33
The City Without a Past	p. 60
The First Reach	p. 89
City of Victims	p. 113
Rising Waters	p. 141
Crushed, Torn and Curled	p. 160
Swimming	p. 186
A New Great Wall	p. 212
The Shipmaster's Guide	p. 253
The Foothills	p. 270
The Garden Country of Joseph Rock	p. 291
The River Wild	p. 331
Harder Than the Road to Heaven	p. 356
Headwaters	p. 387
Afterword: The Yangtze	p. 395
Suggestions for Further Reading	p. 399
Index	p. 405
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