Not really what I expected, not bad, but a little cheesy in its central love story. I thought it would tell me about the complexities of modern China, but the feeling I got was just 'new China is corrupt, old China was better'. If this was written by someone who had experienced both it might feel more genuine. Maybe I just need some of the subtle analogies pointed out to me. I could not move away from the thought that this was a white mans escapist romance.