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Indonesia is the world's largest archipelagic country, consisting of 13,500 islands, home to 360 ethnic groups and speaking 719 languages. Not only is it rich in natural resources, it is also a country of unparalleled cultural diversity and heterogeneity. Indonesia has been ravaged by colonial exploitation and conflicts and wars for many years. It has a complex colonial experience and an arduous modernization process. In addition, Indonesia is multi-ethnic, multi-lingual and multi-religious due to its geographical characteristics. It is extremely difficult to understand it. Elizabeth Pisani has traveled around the Indonesian islands as a foreign correspondent and an AIDS epidemiologist. She has deeply observed and understood this mysterious and changeable country at the wonderful intersection of modernity and tradition. She has also deeply analyzed Indonesia's modern history, political system, race, religious identity, rigid bureaucracy, and traditional "sticky" culture. She has gradually pieced together the fragments she saw and heard during her travels into a complete portrait of Indonesia.