Library

This journey started with a commuter subway, followed by a relay of various trains, including the "Lone Star" that spanned six states in the United States, the "Aztec Eagle" that revealed the decadence and sensuality of Mexico like a showcase, the mountain train that crossed the lofty mountains to Peru, and the "Pan Am" that crossed the national border and was more than a thousand miles long... Finally, the journey ended with the century-old Patagonia Express, which was as fast as an old cow. Paul Theroux traveled from Medford, Massachusetts, close to the big city of Boston, to the small town of Esquel in the Patagonian plateau of Argentina. On the steadily moving train, other people's terminal is his starting point, and the journey of dialogue with space begins.

In 1986, Paul Theroux came to China again after six years. He not only visited prosperous cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, but also reached border areas such as Langxiang in Heilongjiang and Turpan in Xinjiang. He walked to the land of China and chatted with all kinds of people, including young people practicing oral English in the English Corner of Shanghai People's Park, students who wanted to do import and export business, intellectuals who had just experienced a catastrophe... He used a sharp and humorous tone to complain all the way, but he also used a calm and rational perspective to analyze the character of the Chinese people and discover the daily life and changes in thinking of the Chinese people under the changing times. Since the 1980s, there have been tremendous changes, but our current swings and difficulties are all familiar.