Street Of Eternal Happiness: Big City Dreams Along A Shanghai Road

Product Description

Shanghai: a global city in the midst of a renaissance, where dreamers arrive each day to partake in a mad torrent of capital, ideas & opportunity. Rob Schmitz is one of them. He immerses himself in his neighbourhood, forging relationships with ordinary people who see a brighter future in the city`s sleek skyline. There`s Zhao, whose path from factory floor to shopkeeper is sidetracked by her desperate measures to ensure a better future for her sons. Down the street lives Auntie Fu, a fervent capitalist forever trying to improve herself while keeping her sceptical husband at bay. Up a flight of stairs, CK sets up shop to attract young dreamers like himself, but learns he`s searching for something more. As Schmitz becomes increasingly involved in their lives, he makes surprising discoveries which untangle the complexities of modern China: a mysterious box of letters that serve as a portal to a family`s
- & country`s
- dark past, & an abandoned neighbourhood where fates have been violently altered by unchecked power & greed.A tale of twenty-first-century China, Street of Eternal Happiness profiles China`s distinct generations through multifaceted characters who illuminate an enlightening, humorous &, at times, heartrending journey along the winding road to the Chinese dream. Each story adds another layer of humanity to modern China, a tapestry also woven with Schmitz`s insight as a foreign correspondent. The result is an intimate & surprising portrait that dispenses with the tired stereotypes of a country we think we know, immersing us instead in the vivid stories of the people who make up one of the world`s most captivating cities.