Best Books about China

China is a big country, and it's a really old country, which is why there are thousands of books about China that have been published. But which are the BEST books, so you don't have to sift through them all. Here are what I feel are the best 10 books about China. Some of these are fiction, some are non-fiction, and some are other genres, so you have a good selection.
The Top Ten
1 Wild Swans : Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang

Classic book on the history of China through the story of 3 women

2 Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel - Lisa See

An absolutely amazing book. Page turner doesn't even begin to describe it. You not only get a gripping story of friendship that stays with you FOREVER, but a harrowing insight into the lives of ordinary Chinese people in that era. A must read for anybody.

A tale of love and friendship, Chinese style.

3 Red Dust: A Path Through China by Ma Jian

Chinese vagabond quits normal life to drift across China

4 CHINA: Portrait of a People - Tom Carter

No other photo book about China that can compare to this huge volume

5 River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze by Peter Hessler

One of the most popular books for westerners traveling in China

6 Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress: A Novel by Dai Sijie

Two teens discover love and literature in a re-education camp

7 The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II - Iris Chang

Brutal truth about what the Japanese did to the Chinese during the war

8 Life and Death in Shanghai by Nien Cheng

One of the best books about the Cultural Revolution

9 1421: The Year China Discovered America by Gavin Menzies

Did the Chinese "discover" America? Scholars are divided on the issue

10 Falling Leaves: The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter by Adeline Yen Mah

One of the very first books I cried to. Sat down one day to read it and didn't move for 5 hours. I cannot recommend this book enough to anybody with even a slight interest in Chinese culture or a heartbreaking story of a young girl.

Rich Chinese girl spills the dirt on her abusive family

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