Chinese awakenings

the long version

This evocative and fascinating book shows how, from muddy village crossroads to raucous city streets, Chinese exhilarated by new dreams are shaping the future of their nation. During their five years in China, the Tysons dodged government surveillance and sought out life stories throughout the country: in the yak-hair tents of Tibetan nomads, the cramped Shanghai garret of China's most courageous dissident, the seaside mansion of a multimillionaire, and the tiny sheet-metal workshop of a peasant migrant. The Tysons show how the initiative for change is coming from below as millions of Chinese pursuing different dreams propel reform far beyond the Communist Party's original intent. They paint an intimate portrait of the feelings, aspirations, and workaday lives of ordinary Chinese.