China: A Pictorial Guide

This pictorial guide is essentially an introduction to China past and present through pictures; in no way does it aim to be a true guide. For those details there is a wide range of guidebooks on offer. The photographic collection dates from 1974 to the present. Most of the images of Eastern China are from the 1980s and are representative of the 'old China' of the Deng Xiaoping era. Hopefully these pages will provide inspiration to would-be explorers and curious armchair travellers.China is vast and, for the purposes of this book, can be divided into regions. It's a sad fact that travelling across some of the regions illustrated in this book is much harder today than in the heady days when independent travel across China was first possible, back in the 1980s. Security and safety concerns are more widespread in general, although the Far East remains one of the safest regions of the globe to visit. Global issues have tempered some freedoms, all of which can lead to less understanding of peoples and cultures far removed from our daily lives. How this clash of interests plays out will be for future generations to discover.Some parts of China are globally well known, but not all of the more far-flung destinations are familiar to outsiders. Many parts of the eastern region, hosting the large conurbations of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, are visited by tourists. The central lands of Chongqing, Chengdu and Xian are home to some of the most historic and amazing sights in China, but head west towards Tibet, Qinghai, Gansu and Xinjiang, or north to Inner Mongolia, and an inquisitive visitor might be one of only a handful of foreigners in town. Across China the people are often quite reserved, but many are also as welcoming, charming and helpful as any across the globe.The new challenge is how to learn more without the adverse issues of global climate change and disease - a challenge more difficult today than for those of us who were able to experience the world in quieter times. The spirit of adventure lurks within, a spirit that poses new questions, sometimes with no answers...