I picked up this book when I found it in the book store’s discount section. As a Chinese living in Canada (well, not Amercia but still a country hugely impacted by it), I couldn’t help to be attracted by it. Not to mention the relationship between America and China is one of the most important topics in the current world. Maybe we can learn something from the beginning.

When America first met China, Guangzhou was the only city in China allowed to do trades with foreigners. It’s the frontier of the cross culture communication in an era of the west surpassing China in technology. The interaction between the ancient China and modern western countries affect the destiny of China until this day. Even though I’ve been in Guangzhou for a few months, including a large amount of time spent around one of its first ports, I didn’t know its full glory until I read this book.

Here are some interesting things mentioned in the book:

• Howqua, a hong merchant, maybe the riches man in the world at the time. And he heavily invested in America including the railways.
• One of the popular Chinese product at the time was replicas of western paintings, even though the style was dismissed as crafts instead of art in China. More interestingly, in Country Driving, the author mentioned it’s a main industry for a new boom town in China. So seems there is still a strong demand even today.
• Another popular product from China nowadays – the knock offs of big brands, is also dated back when America first started trade with China.