Country Driving Summary

The Landscape of Poor and Forgotten

Country Driving by Peter Hessler is an enlightening book that takes the reader on a journey of China’s shift from a rural to a modern economy. Hessler decides to move to China, in which he obtains a Chinese driver’s licenses and sets out on an adventure where he meets a variety of intriguing and unique individuals. The book separates his journey into three unique parts that outline the economic shift. Hessler takes the reader on an up-close and personal experience through the rural political economy of China, taking its economy farm to industry and now rural to city, but not without consequences.

Hessler sets out on his journey from east to west along the Great wall, in which he documents the close encounters he has with

people living in rural China. At this time in China the auto boom is in full swing, and due to driving being costly it was considered a privilege to drive for most. The Chinese government had begun paving roads and creating tolls connecting the country. Hessler came across many interesting characters along his journey. He paints the country side as a shifting landscape. With the countries industrial shift from agriculture to industry, the fate of the countryside was unknown. Hessler wondered what would happen to some of the small villages. He discovered that only children, the elderly and disabled were left behind. Most of the elderly’s children lived in urban areas and would often send their children back to the countryside in order to be raised by their grandparents. Hessler is apprehensive about the future of the countryside and his journey along the Wall showed him a landscape of dry and forgotten places.
As a writer Hessler felt the need to immerse himself into the culture of the country by settling down for some time in the village of Sancha. Hessler always used the Wall as an inspiration for traveling, however, the view of the Wall from Sancha inspired him to stay. Sancha is only a short two-hour drive from Beijing, but it might as well be worlds away. Since most of the younger generations had left the rural countryside for a more modern way of life, Sancha rarely saw outsiders. Needless to say, the curiosity of the villagers was quite endearing and almost childlike in nature.
My favorite anecdote from the book happens when Hessler meets a rural farmer in Sancha turned entrepreneur, Wei Ziqi. Hessler was fond of the Wei family and enjoyed the peaceful simplicity of the countryside. When Wei Ziqi’s son had his first day of school or got sick, Hessler was there. He became a part of the Wei family in a sense. Hessler had a front row seat as Wei Ziqi grew greater loyalty to his country and even joined the party, and with a change of clothes and some Italy shoes, Wei Ziqi was living the life he had dreamed. Wei Ziqi had started a restaurant in Sancha. However, the stress would later mount and it became increasingly difficult for Wei Ziqi and his family. As expansion progressed across China, these newly expanded businesses began to have worries and increasingly stressed financially, but there was no turning back to the life they had once known. The simple life was now gone. This transformation would continue to sweep the country and because of the expansion of infrastructure and the success of the auto boom, China moved from farmer to industry and now rural to city with some of these significant consequences. The last section of Hessler’s book is spent talking about those who migrated from rural living to city dwelling in order to join the factory revolution. Factory work was thriving and staunchly less boring then farm life. Factories would be built as quickly as they would be abandon, another consequence. This demonstrates the risks that progress can have. Not everyone will come out a winner.
In reading this book, the author focuses on the getting to know the people of China.

Often times we look at China and immediately think about the political constraints that the government has in place. This book puts a human element on the Chinese experience during this time. The human element that Hessler so eloquently writes about, explains why this economic shift was so passionately driven by the people. I have learned that there is a unique relationship between the ordinary citizens of China and the state. China was able to promote nationalism through its education system while providing people with opportunities that they were previously incapable of providing for themselves. You are taught at a very young age to work hard and never give up. You are taught to understand and recognize your imperfection in comparison to the state. It is almost as if the people of China are constantly seeking the approval of the state and not the other way around, like in a democracy. This reflects what we have learned in our readings. It was difficult to understand why one would surrender their pots and pans for the greater good of the state. After reading this book, I now grasp the Chinese passion for a better

tomorrow.
Country Driving is a wonderful book detailing the journey that China as a country has gone through during their shift from rural to city and farmer to industrial. Hessler has an amusing way with words and I would highly recommend this book.

(Word Count 900)