Want an inside look of the entirety of the Middle Kingdom? In his book, Buck Perley (U.S.), along with Amy Mathieson (U.K), tell their fascinating story of a four-month, 21,000-winding mile ride that covered all but one of China’s 34 provincial units, and also served as their bid for a Guinness World Record.

A big part of the book’s appeal is that until recently an overlanding experience of this scope would have been impossible due to the country’s historically restrictive travel laws, particularly for foreigners. China is all but unknown to most Westerners, and Buck does a wonderful job of enlightening the reader as to many of this mysterious country’s geography, landmarks, climate and culture. He also includes quite a bit of background history as well as other fun and little-known interesting random facts that add to the book’s flavor.

One of the reasons The Great Ride of China is so valuable is that Buck and Amy both speak Mandarin. As a result, it’s a much more immersive experience. And their being able to communicate directly with the people completely changes the aspect of their adventure-oriented narrative. Not only is China a great unknown to most of us, but previous accounts by Westerners who might have spoken only a few words or phrases often left a lot lacking in the depth of their observations.

Buck uses a healthy dose of Chinese words and phrases throughout the book (along with an excellent glossary) that are a bit overwhelming at first, but which will be invaluable to budding travelers to this emerging country. There’s also a good sampling of “lost in the translation” humor, guaranteeing a few chuckles.

In addition to Buck and Amy, there is a third character—their factory-sponsored CFMoto 650TTR—a bike they knew from the get-go was wholly unsuited for the undertaking, but one that, as it turned out, made their journey more than the adventure they set out for. With about a billion bikes on the road, almost all of which are under 250ccs, China isn’t known for bigger or even mid-sized motorcycles. So, a subplot around the 650TTR provides interesting tidbits into how they managed, the problems they experienced, and the support they received for the bike along the way.

Both the printed and Kindle versions allow photo viewing by the use of QR codes the reader can scan with a smartphone. The QR code opens a photo section of The Great Ride of China’s website where one can view the accompanying photos and captions that pertain to the appropriate sections of the book. I found this very helpful in bringing aspects of the story to life.

In so many ways, this important work helps to demystify China’s current culture as we witness this once Communist country morphing into a free economic system. It’s a truly fascinating travelogue where the reader can’t help but come away with an itch to get there and experience China for him or herself.

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★★★★ of Five Stars!
Author: Buck Perley
Publisher: Self-published
Website: Book.TheGreatRideOfChina.com
ISBN-10: 0999074601
ISBN-13: 978-0999074602
ASIN: B072YSNJYZ
Paperback: $20.97 | Kindle: $9.99

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