This book contains 87 interviews reflecting a wide range of personal experiences between 1991 and 2008. The interviewees come from different occupations and different places. They include a azz player in Heilongjiang Province, a rock-and-roll drummer in Tibet, an elderly fruit farmer in Shanxi Province, a Beijing boss just 14 years old, a retired 68-year-old man who ventured alone in Africa, a college student who has adopted a younger sister despite poverty and hardship, and a woman entrepreneur who ranked No. 1 on Hurun China Rich List.
Their stories present the real lives of Chinese people since the 1990s. In the course of the great social transformation brought about by reform and opening up, in their pursuit of well-off lives the Chinese people have striven to maintain their traditional virtues of a simple lifestyle and unselfishness. They have clung to their traditional culture while absorbing new and foreign cultural sustenance.All the interviewees related their experiences, joys, sorrows, challenges, grievances and hopes in a candid way.
CIVIL SERVICE
Wang Dongmei: Tibetan Spokeswoman
Qiampa Getsang: Custodian of the Potala Palace
Jia Guohua: Grassroots Civil Servant
TEACHING
Yao Lizhen: Village Teacher
Li Yiru: A Lifelong Devotion to Girls' Education
Li Yingxin: Appealing for Better Pay for Farmer-teachers
Lu Yongkang: Paralyzed Teacher
Yang Jinxiang: Chinese Teacher in Bangladesh
Yu Minhong: Richest Teacher
Guan Yan: Teacher in a Wheelchair
LEARNING
Tang Ying: Hearing-impaired Ph.D
Deng Shen Boy in Charge
Hong Zhanhui: A Student's Moving Fortitude
Liu Ting: Caregiver
Wang Ji: Sex Educator
STUDY AND RESEARCH
Zheng Zhenxiang: Archeologist
Cheng Jing: Leading Returned Biochip Scientist
Lin Yifu: Economist and Independent Thinker
Zhizhen Wang: A Quiet Life by Choice
Shuang Shi: A Special Passion for Military History
John T. Ma: Founder of the Books-for-China Fund
WRITING
Yu Hua: Avant-garde Novelist
Liu Cixin: Science Fiction Writer
MEDICAL CARE
Dai Shu: Veterinarian
Gao Yaojie: A Grandmother Crusading Against AIDS
Qin Xiangguan: Father of the Rural Cooperative Medical Care System
Fu Pochu: Volunteer Nurse for Lepers
Li Leishi: Kidney Doctor
Wang Ya: Volunteer with MSF
Yang Shichun: Army Doctor
Li Ling: Long-time Grassroots Doctor
ENTREPRENEURS
Yao Yuecan: Travel Boss
Zhai Yuhe: Champion of the Elderly
Zhang Yin: Richest Woman
Feng Jun: Digital Manufacturer
Liu Sirong Millionaire
Tenzin Qopei: Popularizing Tibetan Culture
Tan Chuanhua: Creator of China's Biggest Wooden-Comb Brand
FARMERS AND MIGRANT WORKERS
Zhang Jiashun: Ecological Farmer
Bai Guangqin: Migrant Worker
Zhang Zhansheng Apple Grower
An Jinlei: Organic Farmer
Huang Changqi: AIDS Patient
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Wang Lixin: Wildlife Protector
Zhou Weisen: A Former Wildlife Trapper
Lister Cheung: Environmentalist
Quan Li: Tiger Lady
Wang Daqing: Still Battling the Desert
Zhang Heshan: Great Wall Villager-Protector
Liang Congjie: A Civil Environmental Protector
SERVICEMEN
He Xiaodong: Soldier for Humanity
Wang Aifu: Family Locator
JOURNALIST
Wang Jun: Saving Historical Sites
TYING THE KNOT
Liu Xiang: Beijing's No. 1 Matchmaker
Xie Changjin: Master of Nuptial Ceremonies
COLLECTORS
Zhang Jing: Rock Museum Operator
Sha Zhiming: A New Life, Collecting Yixing Teapots
ENGINEER
Guan Geng: Construction Supervisor
FILM AND TELEVISION
Pu Cunxin: Star on a Mission
Jia Zhangke: Exemplary 6th Generation Director
Zhang Hua: Documentary Producer
Wang Weili: Cinema Owner
PHOTOGRAPHY
Emi Shi: Rebel Photographer
Liu Hongbo: SARS Patient
Hou Bo: Mao's Photographer
FASHION
Liu Min: Fashion Designer
ARTISTS
Han Meilin: Picasso of the East
Fang Cheng: China's King of Cartoonists
Yue Minjun: Laughing at the World Around Him
Chen Shilin: Retouching Mao's Official Portraits CONDUCTOR
Luo Lang: National Anthem Conductor
PERFORNERS
Lang Lang: Pianist Extraordinaire
Dainzin Dawa: Rock on the Roof of the World
Sun Heng: Migrant Musician
Fan Shengqi: Jazzman
ATHLETES
Zheng Haixia: Basketball Champion
Adili: Tightrope-Walk King
Xian Dongmei: Judo Contestant
Zou Shiming: Boxer
Guo Yandong: Young Paralympics Basketball Star
RETIREES
An Youzhong: Obsessed by Photography
Li Guoliang: Information Guide
Tian Kuixiang: Botanist
OTHERS
Tong Zeng: National Campaigner
Li Li: Nurse-turned Farmer in Zambia
Ma Xiulan: Pilgrim to Mecca
Luo Shanxue: Son of a Comfort Woman