About the book:
Joining the high Himalayan altitudes to mainland China, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway embodies the dreams of generations of Chinese and its leaders, including Sun Yat-sen, Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin. In a fastly developing globalized society, high-speed rail, accessibility and travel are often easy to dismiss and take for granted. But here, Xu Jian takes a step back, and station by station, relives the political and geographical challenges encountered during the railway's construction. It is a story not only of engineering, but of national pride, bloodshed, hardship, sacrifice, romance and sex.


Contents:

Author's Note
THE FIRST TICKET
Entering Tibet
NORTHBOUND TRAIN
The First Station - The Zero Kilometer Marker at Beijing
SOUTHBOUND TRAIN
The First Junction -The Iron Boots of Tibet
NORTHBOUND TRAIN
The Second Station - At the Source of the Great Yinma River
NORTHBOUND TRAIN
Third Station - The Forbidden Edge of Livelihood
NORTHBOUND TRAIN
The Fourth Station - The Tender Kunlun Mountains
SOUTHBOUND TRAIN
The Fourth Junction - Yunnan-Tibet or Qinghai-Tibet
NORTHBOUND TRAIN
The Fifth Station - Hoh Xil
NORTHBOUND TRAIN
The Seventh Station - Crossing the Wilderness
SOUTHBOUND TRAIN
The Seventh Junction - Days on the Fenghuoshan Mountain
NORTHBOUND TRAIN
The Eighth Station - An Army Burning with Righteous Indignation Is Bound to Win
NORTHBOUND TRAIN
The Ninth Station - The Battles at Yueling Mountains
NORTHBOUND TRAIN
The Tenth Station - Reaching the Peak
NORTHBOUND TRAIN
The Eleventh Station - Fit into the Outer Suburbs