Engaging ... Narrated by this curious Englishman and peopled by a cast of natives, settlers, tourists, and ex-pats, this absorbing book is a tantalizing introduction to China's diversity and the ethnic and political dynamics at the extremes of its empire ... Should interest travel junkies and students of ethnography and geopolitics
Publishers Weekly
A swift-moving, colorful account of ... Read morethe bewildering array of fiercely independent ethnic groups within an uneasy Chinese home
Kirkus
A witty and endearing travelogue, and one which presents a view of the country which may surprise even seasoned China watchers ... An excellent exposition on how China's hard-line stance on the immovability of its borders is affecting the lives of millions living on the fringes of both a country and a society
South China Morning Post
Honest and nostalgic, David Eimer's book is as much about his experience of modern-day China as the problem of Han totalitarianism
Shortlist
The best of a number of recent synoptic books about the country ... Eimer deftly mixes journalistic analysis with personal experiences. These include some salty tales, as the frontier towns he visits are lively places
Conde Nast Traveller
Eimer explores the little-visited outer reaches of a nation that's more empire than country to meet the people chafing under the CCP's diktats as the state shifts into superpower gear
Wanderlust
Bookshelves are now groaning under the weight of China travelogues, but Eimer has forged genuinely new ground as he recounts his travels to China's furthest corners ... A fascinating picture of a part of the country rarely examined in the many books on China's go-go economy and fast-changing society




Daily Telegraph
An engaging journal of his travels through some of these liminal lands ... Lovely writing
Ben Chu, Independent
Eimer has colourful material ... A well-written adventure in far-flung places that the world needs to know more about if it is to understand China
The Times
Eimer is especially adept at ferreting out obscure historical facts ... Part travelogue with vivid descriptions of landscapes and people
Scotsman
A fine piece of reportage, which goes a long way to explaining why the Han are seen so often as the representatives of a colonial power, and why separatists, rather than pro-democracy campaigners, are now the greatest concern in Beijing
Daily Telegraph
Eimer ... has forged genuinely new ground
Daily Telegraph
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