Behind the Wall

by Colin Thubron

First published 1987

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4.2(168)

After studying Mandarin, Colin Thubron travels roughly ten thousand miles through China by train, bicycle, bus and on foot. His route carries him through major cities, rural provinces, minority regions, the Gobi and stretches of the Great Wall. Conversations with workers, monks, students, officials and villagers reveal social differences that the language of the state often obscures.

The journey takes place in the first decade of Reform and Opening Up, only a short time after the Cultural Revolution. Memories of political persecution, Red Guard violence and damaged religious sites remain close to the surface, while markets, private ambition and greater contact with the outside world are beginning to reappear. The book records a society negotiating between Mao Zedong’s revolutionary legacy, older cultural traditions and an uncertain economic future.