By YU LINTAO

BOOKS

Chinese Cities in Foreigners’ Eyes

By YU LINTAO

To introduce Chinese cities to the world, a book seriesCities of Chinawritten by foreign authors will be published during the next three years by the Beijing-based Foreign Languages Press (FLP), a company affliated to China International Publishing Group (CIPG).

The first three books of the series,Nanjing—Life on the Water’s Edge, The Kunshan WayandWuxi—Where Ancient Culture Meets Contemporary Life, have just been released.

“Our goal is to publish 20 to 30 books in this series in the next three years,”said Hu Baomin, President of FLP, at a launching ceremony in Beijing on July 14, 2010.

With the idea of “one city, one book, learning about China through its cities,”nearly 100 foreign writers were invited to join the project, a way to introduce a real China from a Western perspective, Hu said.

“The series combined the expats’perspectives and writing styles with firsthand local life experiences and overviews of each city’s history, economy, culture and society,” said Huang Youyi, Vice President of CIPG,“and stories about Chinese cities by foreign authors can help to restore some of the details of China’s cities local people take for granted or have ignored.”

Einar Tangen, the author ofThe Kunshan Way, said things happened in China are discussed in general but people know little about their specifcs, and it is a different perspective to talk about details of the country.

Bobby Brill, the author ofNanjing—Life on the Water’s Edge, said the book is a taste of Nanjing and a taste of China. “What you see is just the tip of the iceberg. There’s so much more to explore,” said Brill.

The FLP says books about cities including Beijing, Nantong, Qingdao, Changzhou and Hangzhou are being planned.