China Underground from Zachary Mexico

Although there are things in China that irk me, it is such old and shallow news to read about human rights problems and booming economy in China. Seems like writers and journalists out there have something against the country, which I believe is trying hard to set itself apart from its notorious reputation of the communist late 90s. Or maybe they are just completely uninformed about the most populous country in the world, only trying to get a job done and take a free ride on trend of China to get something published. Many of them do not seem to have learn much about the country, its culture, the language… except for what they know from generalizations came up by passer-bys in China. I wanted to read something different about China.

Why I picked Zachary Mexico’s book is because he studied Chinese since fifteen and lived there for quite a number of years. Rather than hanging out with stoned foreigners taking advantage of cheaper lifestyles in China, he spent time getting to know China and its people. China Underground will show you a China you do not read about in newspapers, it will not be only about human rights violations, but you will learn about Chinese everywhere in the country, not limited to Beijing and Shanghai. From a wannabe rock star from Xinjiang trying to make himself known in Shanghai, a countryside photojournalist, the creme of the crop from China’s best university, Chinese mafia, punk bands, prostitutes, Mexico had seen a lot of China and every level of it. He has emerged himself into the society and gotten the people to trust and click with him.

While it is still typical for someone to write about the outsiders and the unacceptables of a society moving in the capitalist direction, the book is a refreshing change and you do get more out of it than a silly journalist’s uninformed point of view.