BuzzFlash Reviews

BUZZFLASH REVIEWS

Another special value, an exciting large format color photo book of China for well below the retail price -- and, as always, including free shipping and handling from BuzzFlash.

From the publisher:

In the Land of the Dragon, cities with skylines that look like backdrops to sci-fi movies coexist with millennium-old monuments. Densely populated cities contrast with the forests and brilliant lakes of Sichuan, the Himalayan peaks, and the deserts and Blue Mountains of Xinjiang. Here a kaleidoscope of perspectives opens up on life in and around nine major metropolises, from Zhenghou and its archaeological discoveries to Macao, the Las Vegas of the East.The photography captures the entire range of China's natural, architectural, and human diversity, while the book's narrative explores the many traditions and aspirations nurtured by the people. The result is a beautiful tableau that lets the reader discover today's China through a choice of sumptuous itineraries.

Enthusiasm for the free market and the rediscovery of traditions mark the new China. Red flags have given way to red lanterns, Communism has been reduced to a diminishing overlay on a country in which nationalism and Confucian pragmatism fuel the drive toward a future in which long-held traditions are not entirely lost. This is China in the Third Millennium: a mix of the ancient and the futuristic, where cities with skylines that look like backdrops to sci-fi movies coexist with millennia-old monuments and values that have remained unchanged for centuries.

The nation`s immense territory juxtaposes the overpopulated plains of the east with the marvels of the west ­ the forests and blue lakes of Sichuan, the Himalayan peaks and Tibetan plateaus, valleys and forests, the deserts and Celestial Mountains of Xinjiang, and the breathtaking Guilin Mountains. And then there are the great rivers: the Huanghe (Yellow River), the source of the creation myth of the Han, and the Yangtze (Blue River), which divides the country into north and south and defines the landscape of the Three Gorges, long celebrated in Chinese literature and painting. This stretch of the Yangtze is now the world’s biggest construction site. China is an overpopulated country: more than 60 metropolises have populations exceeding 5 million inhabitants. It is also an outdoor museum whose artistic and architectural heritage is blended with history and faith.

An online reviewer:

I purchased this book as a gift for a friend that will be my traveling companion to China in the spring. Phenomenial photography! This is an exquisite "coffee table" pictorial guide of China protraying the vast county in its diversity and the book intensified our excitement for our upcoming trip.

300 pages in color.

BUZZFLASH REVIEWS