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

A stunning tour of China, its people, and its history. Chosen as one of the best travel books of the year by the New York Times Book Review.

Rising in the mountains of the Tibetan border, the Yangtze River, 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 ...