From Publishers Weekly
Once British author/explorer Hanbury-Tenison and his wife Louella had completed their journey on horseback from the south of France to their farm in Cornwall (recounted in White Horses over France), they decided to broaden their horizonsto a 1000-mile expedition along the Great Wall of China. Having received the complex permissions necessary, they became the first Westerners in modern times to traverse the length of the wall. They spent blissful moments in oases of great natural beauty, experienced the exhilaration of exploring areas few Europeans had visited and enjoyed the open curiosity of the many Chinese who had never seen Westerners. But they also came upon industrial centers of unchecked pollution, jerry-built modern housing and a grinding bureaucracy that caused them interminable delays. The author was left with a troubled impression that, in the wake of the Cultural Revolution, disdain for esthetics has supplanted a 5000-year-old artistic tradition. Photos.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
In less than a decade China has become a mature tourist destination. Writers now jog, raft, bicycle, and even ride horses through the country. This is not a ride on the Wall, for that is forbidden and largely impossible anyway. Instead, the author and his wife, both experienced British travelers, rode alongside the Wall where possible, in a discontinuous journey of 1000 miles. With sponsorship, guides, interpreters, and even a cook, this was an adventure in management more than a challenge of nature. Yet it makes for a fetching account, and the descriptions of northwest China are fresh and interesting. The photos are quite good. For public libraries. Harold M. Otness, Southern Oregon State Coll. Lib., Ashland
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
