In , the Chinese journalist and intellectual Xu Zhiyuan paints a portrait of the world’s second-largest economy via a thoughtful and wide-ranging series of mini essays on contemporary Chinese society. He describes the many stages upon which China’s great transformation is taking place, from Beijing's Silicon district to a cruise down the Three Gorges; he profiles China’s dissidents, including Liu Xiaobo, Ai Weiwei and Chen Guangcheng; and explores lesser-known stories of scandals that rocked China but which most people outside that country did not hear about—and which shed troubling light on China's dark heart. Xu Zhiyuan understands his homeland in a way no foreign correspondent ever could. This unique insider’s view of China is measured and brave, ambitious in scope and deeply personal.