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in National Geographic
by
Heinrich Harrer, May 2008
First published in 1955, Harrer's absorbing narrative chronicles his escape from a British World War II POW camp in India to Lhasa, where he's embraced as a Tibetan citizen. Harrer vividly depicts Tibetan traditions such as the Butter Festival, featuring yak butter sculptures, where he first glimpses the then 11-year-old Dalai Lama. Befriended by the Dalai Lama, Harrer serves as his tutor until the Chinese invasion in 1950. The account is a lengthy but rewarding read, providing an intimate, historical perspective on Tibet and its fascinating leader.
Posted 11:49, 21 April 2008
This abstract was written by
Bonnie Walker
and edited by Brijit.
in National Geographic
by
Brook Larmer, May 2008
In the last 40 years the volume of China's Yellow River has fallen by 90 percent, and what embarrassing trickle makes it to the sea is so horribly polluted that livestock die within hours of drinking from it. Fueled by the desire to maintain China's economic boom, cities and factories are springing up along the river, using vast quantities of water then dumping human and industrial waste, leaving 50 percent of the river "biologically dead." Larmer writes an alarming catalog of the habitat's villains and victims, as well as the beginning of Chinese grassroots environmental movements.
Posted 9:29, 21 April 2008
This abstract was written by
Jonathan Gallaway
and edited by Brijit.
in National Geographic
by
Lewis M. Simons, May 2008
Beijing and the Dalai Lama's exiled government are fighting for control of Tibet and the loyalty of its people, trapping the population between two cultural backstories. The result is a place where nomads live in solar-powered tents and Tibetan monks ride motorcycles. Simons relates his journey through this strange cultural hybrid, producing an uncommonly acute piece of field reporting. Looking at a rising Tibetan middle class that is using profits to rebuild a religion the Chinese government tried to squelch, we see a people adapting to one myth in order to hold on to another.
Posted 3:14, 18 April 2008
This abstract was written by
Jonathan Gallaway
and edited by Brijit.
in National Geographic
by
Audrey Topping, May 2008
In this reprinted story from 1971, Topping details her intriguing experiences during a then-recent visit to China, a country she had also toured during college in its pre-Communist era. She thoroughly contrasts the two eras of experience, noting that where huts of mud and straw overlooked tiny private plots, brick houses with chicken coops have sprung up on the edges of massive fields. Such changes are indicative of alterations in many other aspects of society, with increasing industrialization and much-improved sanitation. Topping also fills in the historical gaps that fueled the transformation, threatening to make this piece an information overload.
Posted 5:17, 17 April 2008
This abstract was written by
Brian Willett
and edited by Brijit.
in National Geographic
by
Ted C. Fishman, May 2008
A confluence of factors -- the building boom ignited by the 2008 Olympics, the availability of a massive corps of low-paid migrant labor, and a renewed desire to present itself as a world city -- have made Beijing a playground for international architects with grand, innovative blueprints. While acknowledging the criticism that these buildings pander to foreign tastes at the expense of traditional Chinese neighborhoods, Fishman leads a quick, fascinating tour of whimsical architectural achievements shaped like eggs and bird's nests, loops and cubes.
Posted 3:57, 17 April 2008
This abstract was written by
Teresa Elsey
and edited by Brijit.
in National Geographic
by
Peter Hessler, May 2008
To meet insatiable Western demand for cheap Chinese goods, factory towns are popping up as if drawn into the vast farmlands of the Zhejiang province. One town makes nothing but brassieres, the next makes zippers, or buttons, or fake leather. All of these towns were built the same way, from waves of immigrants -- first construction workers, then entrepreneurs, then factory workers and support businesspeople, all without governmental involvement. Hessler compares the expansion with the American industrial boom in this comprehensive and fascinating article, but quickly points out that the urbanizing system is shortsighted and not sustainable.
Posted 2:49, 17 April 2008
This abstract was written by
Jonathan Gallaway
and edited by Brijit.
in National Geographic
by
Peter Hessler, May 2008
On the eve of the Beijing Olympics, portraits of a changing China are a dime a dozen. But Hessler's perspective is a distinctive one -- the former Peace Corps volunteer was sent to China to teach English in 1996, and uses his own experiences (as well as thoughts from dozens of ex-students) to reflect on how China is transforming. The country's economic and environmental problems are going largely unresolved as Chinese with increasing economic clout concern themselves more with mortgage payments and marriage than societal crises and political reform. The new China will be a rich, urban one -- but whether it can deal with the ensuing problems is another question altogether.
Posted 2:40, 17 April 2008
This abstract was written by
Ian Beacock
and edited by Brijit.
in National Geographic
by
Leslie T. Chang, May 2008
English lessons for 4-year-olds and teenagers' brand loyalty are just symptoms of the incredible aspirational stresses felt by the Chinese middle class. Chang visits Shanghai schoolgirl Bella Zhou at ages 10 and 15, examining the generation gap caused by China's rapid cultural and economic change, achieving particular poignancy when Bella's parents acknowledge sensing their own obsolescence. Chang's piece crackles with the excitement of the nearly limitless opportunities -- and attendant anxieties -- that modern China offers its middle-class children.
Posted 2:15, 17 April 2008
This abstract was written by
Teresa Elsey
and edited by Brijit.
in National Geographic
by
Amy Tan, May 2008
Nestled in the mountains of China's Guizhou province, the rural village of Dimen is home to members of the Dong minority. Tan beautifully details everyday life in the village, ranging from the healing powers and guidance of the Feng Shui Masters, to the abundant and ceremonial fermented fish (anyu), to the Kam language in which all their history is recorded as song and of which no written version exists. However, Tan warns, as modernization, technology, and a widening generation gap change traditional ways of life, we must hope that this portrait does not become a eulogy for a dying culture.
Posted 11:30, 17 April 2008
This abstract was written by
Alan Blickenstaff
and edited by Brijit.
in National Geographic
by
Mary Roach, April 2008
Anthropomorphizing chimpanzees might no longer be necessary. Long thought to be humanity's closest living relative, certain populations of the primate have been observed displaying distinctly human characteristics, including using spear-like tools for hunting. Roach tells of her experiences in the savanna woodland of eastern Senegal with primate researcher Jill Pruetz. Pruetz, embattled over her findings, spent the last several years observing the chimps of the Fongoli, who local tribes suggest are merely humans who ran away to the bush and stayed too long. Roach writes a rare and carefully crafted window into evolution.
Posted 4:30, 1 April 2008
This abstract was written by
Jonathan Gallaway
and edited by Brijit.