As a former editor at Hong Kong's largest weekly newspaper, Evans thought she knew China well. When she learned the Chinese had built enough new roads to circle the equator 16 times, she decided to take a fresh look at this vast nation.

Fried Eggs With Chopsticks by Polly Evans

"British travel writer Evans (It's Not About the Tapas: A Spanish Adventure on Two Wheels) takes an extremely courageous solitary trip around the People's Republic of China, traveling by train, bus, boat, airplane, automobile, bicycle, and mule. Her book begins as she stares at the cadaver of Chairman Mao on display in Beijing, then spins the yarn of all the trouble his personal physician had with the embalming, comparing it to similar processes with Lenin and Stalin. Evans learns a little Chinese before her trip and knows a resourceful couple in Shanghai who have a travel business, but she is pretty much on her own as she ventures out into this exciting, mysterious country. She endures the excruciating Chinese massage of gua sha, in which the masseuse scrapes her back with a flat implement, a process that almost immediately cures her miserable cold; journeys through and gets lost in the bustling streets of modern Shanghai; and ventures into small villages that have not changed in years. She stays in modern hotels and on one occasion finds herself in a hotel for prostitutes. Her tales are amusing and truly fun to read, and the book gives readers a firsthand look at the world's most populous nation." ~ Library Journal Review