On Leaving Bai Di Cheng: The Culture of China's Yangzi Gorges

Lawrence T. Woods is an associate professor of international studies at
the University of Northern British Columbia and the author of
Asian-Pacific Diplomacy: Nongovernmental Organizations and International
Relations.

This is a curious and inspiring book—curious because it is written as
a diary that combines entries from four persons, and inspiring because
it successfully demonstrates the effectiveness of this somewhat daring
innovation in format.

The book is the product of a private Canadian expedition to China in
1992. Its members sought to gauge the potential cultural destruction of
the daunting and controversial Three Gorges Dam project, which was
actively supported by the Canadian government and by corporate sectors.
What cultural losses will accompany the expected economic and political
gains? What will China, Canada, and the world community lose? How might
we, as Canadians, view the purpose and impact of the project, which is
now well under way?

Using a government-sponsored assessment of the cultural artifacts
destined to be submerged by rising waters behind the dam project, our
guides—a publisher (NC Press’s Caroline Walker), a heritage
consultant (Robert Shipley), a travel writer (Ruth Lor Malloy), and a
scholar (Fu Kailin)—lead us on a sometimes comical and frequently
troubling tour of the Yangzi gorges region. Not surprisingly, the text
reads much like a travelogue at times, although it is replete with
useful background discussions of cultural, historical, and sociological
traits.

The composition of the team of authors foreshadows the range of readers
who will find this book rewarding. Writers and publishers may discover
reasons to explore similar diary formats; archeology buffs and
international development analysts will not be disappointed; travel
guide enthusiasts will feast; and students of Chinese history and
culture will learn a great deal via a stimulating, if unorthodox,
literary vehicle.

Enhanced by a helpful bibliography, a dynastic chronology, and
revealing photographs, this work is a fine contribution to our efforts
to understand China, Canadian–Chinese relations, and the relationship
between culture and modernization.