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

by Simon Winchester

Release Date: 15 October, 1997

Edition: Paperback

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Cruising the Yangtze

This is an excellent book for anyone planning a cruise on the Yangtze. It reads like a novel. I loved it because it describes the cities and the river, but also the history and the people. Winchester must be incredibly brave (or stupid) because he traveled the Yangtze from China into Tibet with one female guide. He also has a very good chapter on the Three Gorges Dam and why it should not be built. This book is a good read for anyone interested in history, travel, adventure or China.

Easily the best travel book about China

The English must have a special talent for combining the personal with the universal, the anecdotal with the historical, and the entertaining with the learned.

Following the Yangtze river upstream, Simon Winchester tells the story of modern China from the bustling, modern city of Shanghai near the mouth of the river to the highlands of the Himalayas where the Yangtze originates and where China has not changed much in 5,000 years. Embedded in the story of his journey is the history of China since the late 18th century: the arrival of the European powers, the Opium Wars, the Japanese invasion, the Civil War, and the years of Communist rule which culminated in the construction of a new Great Wall - the Three Gorges Dam that will irrevocably change the Yangtze river.

Winchester observes, describes, and rarely comments. He has an eye for the right details and the odd anecdote, and he is so well-read that he never loses the big picture. He loves the subject of his narration, and his enthusiasm is palpable on every page - especially when he tells the stories of the English sailors who explored the Yangtze River. His non-judgmental, open-minded way of writing makes the book a pleasure to read.

For people initiated to the ways of China there are many moments of recognition. Take the seemingly bizarre behavior of some village officials, for example, who claim they cannot show Winchester an ingenious invention on which they have spent their time because the key to the room where it is kept is lost. Of course, there is no invention at all, they have been idly wasting their time, drinking tea and smoking cigarettes in their offices but what a loss of face it would be to admit it!

Among travel books about China, "The River at the Center of the World" has no equal. It is simply the best, and most entertaining, introduction to China at the beginning of the 21st century.