River Town: Two Years On The Yangtze

Additional River Town: Two Years On The Yangtze Information

In the heart of Chia's Sichuan province lies the small city of Fuling. Surrounded by the terraced hills of the Yangtze River valley, Fuling has long been a place of continuity, far from the bustling political centers of Beijing and Shanghai. But now Fuling is heading down a new path, and gradually, along with scores of other towns in this vast and ever-evolving country, it is becoming a place of change and vitality, tension and reform, disruption and growth. As the people of Fuling hold on to the China they know, they are also opening up and struggling to adapt to a world in which their fate is uncertain.

Fuling's position at the crossroads came into remarkably sharp focus when Peter Hessler arrived as a Peace Corps volunteer in 1996, marking the first time in more than half a century that the city had an American resident. He found himself teaching English and American literature at the local college, discovering how Shakespeare and other classics look when seen through the eyes of students who have been raised in the Sichuan countryside and educated in Communist Party doctrine. His students, though, are the ones who taught him about the ways of Fuling -- and about the complex process of understanding that takes place when one is immersed in a radically different society.

As he learns the language and comes to know the people, Hessler begins to see that it is indeed a unique moment for Fuling. In its past is Communist China's troubled history -- the struggles of land reform, the decades of misguided economic policies, and the unthinkable damage of the Cultural Revolution -- and in the future is the Three Gorges Dam, which upon completion will partly flood the city and force the resettlement of more than a million people. Making his way in the city and traveling by boat and train throughout Sichuan province and beyond, Hessler offers vivid descriptions of the people he meets, from priests to prostitutes and peasants to professors, and gives voice to their views. This is both an intimate personal story of his life in Fuling and a colorful, beautifully written account of the surrounding landscape and its history. Imaginative, poignant, funny, and utterly compelling, River Town is an unforgettable portrait of a city that, much like China itself, is seeking to understand both what it was and what it someday will be.

What Customers Say About River Town: Two Years On The Yangtze:

The best thing about this book is that you really get a feel for what the author went through and you feel as if his eyes are your eyes, the journey he takes is your journey, the acquaintences he makes along the way are yours as well. This book is a delightful (and well written) travelogue by a Peace Corps volunteer who describes his two year experience living in Fuling, China. I highly recommend this one. You can't help but learn something from this book. By the end, you are treated to a vivid picture of what his experiences were like; the challenges that a foreigner in China has with the language, with the culture, and with the politics. The author also does an excellent job of placing you in the setting, whether it's in the environment of the school in which he teaches, in the noisy city of Fuling itself (full of people and personalities), or in the surrounding countryside into which he ventures.

Many moments which are heartfelt and sad. The various student characters are unforgettable in their personalities and how they grow and change under the influence of one from so foreign and different a culture. Many anecdotes that are laugh out loud funny. Great book. I would highly recommend this book for those who enjoy travel, other cultures, teaching, literature, and history. The story offers an intriguing peak into the life of a young man living such a fascinating adventure--learning the language, learning to fit in to a culture so dramatically different from his own, and interacting with numerous local people. The author documents his two years spent in China as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching English in a rural, remote teachers' college. At the same time, the story is a fascinating review of Chinese history of the 20th century and how this history has impacted on the people, culture, economy, and future of the area.

Peter Hessler describes his experiences teaching English at a Chinese college and traveling in China in an engaging and thoughtful manner. This was an easy read and provided some interesting insights into Chinese daily life and culture.

Peter Hessler is a wonderful writer who can easily transport the reader to China's River Town. A well-written memoir, an eye-opener to those who had never been to China and an appetizing read for me who had first-hand experience of what it's like to live and work there. This, I could read and reread every few years, satiating my desire for Zhong Guo's landscape, culture and food.

You will feel like you know these people for all their strengths and faults. There are attributes about the Chinese that you will like and there are attributes that you will not like, but his account is always on target. The author just tells it like it is. His honest description on how the common folk live in this Town that had seen virtually no one from outside China for centuries is informative and interesting.