The 50 Places That Define Modern China Click on a province to learn more

Scroll mouse over provinces  for associated stories  Click mouse to open  the top story Xingjiang KASHGAR: The Restless Perimeter LOP NOR: Joining the Nuclear Club Tibet LHASA: Tibet's Spiritual Leader Flees Gansu LANZHOU: Development's Dirty Little Secret Sichuan BUYUN: One Man, One Vote Chongqing CHONGQING: The "Floating Population" Yunnan RUILI: The Wild, Wild West MENGLA: Pocket of Poverty Shaanxi XI'AN: A Treasure is Unearthed Guangxi PINGXIANG: War with Vietnam Hainan HAINAN: Corrupt Island     Macau MACAU: The Last Piece of the Puzzle Hong Kong HONG KONG: Return of a Wayward Colony Guangdong PEARL RIVER DELTA: Exporting to the World SHENZHEN: Deng Reinvigorates Reform Hubei WUHAN: Swimming the Yangtze SANDOUPING: Building the Mega-Dam SHIYAN: Hidden Factories Henan XINYANG: A Leap to Starvation Shanxi DAZHAI: Mao's Model Commune THE GREAT WALL: Nixon's Breakthrough Jiangxi LUSHAN: Mao Strikes Back Fujian QUEMOY: Standoff With Taiwan MEIZHOU: Religion's Revival Taiwan TAIPEI: Democracy Works in China Shanghai SHANGHAI: City of Illusions SHANGHAI NORTH STATION: Exodus to Hong Kong CHILDREN'S PALACE: Spoiling the Single Child Jiangsu NANJING BRIDGE: Symbol of Strength Beijing GATE OF HEAVENLY PEACE: Birth of a Nation ZHONGNANHAI: The Inner Sanctum BEIJING BOTANICAL GARDENS: Humbled Emperor PEKING UNIVERSITY: Creating Chaos DEMOCRACY WALL: An Open Challenge BEIJING FILM ACADEMY: Making Marvelous Movies WORKERS STADIUM: Birth of Rock 'n' Roll TIANANMEN SQUARE: Hope and Repression CHINA ART GALLERY: An Avante-Garde Explosion HAIDIAN DISTRICT: A Silicon Valley of China's Own Liaoning YALU RIVER: Taking on the Americans FUSHUN: China Invents the Perfect Soldier DALIAN: City of the Future? TECHNICAL INSTITUTE OF PHYSICAL CULTURE: Ma's Army SHENYANG: Labor Gets Angry Hebei BEIDAIHE: Doing Business at the Beach TANGSHAN: Ominous Rumbling HUAIROU: Creating an Agenda for Women Heilongjiang XINGKAI LAKE PRISON FARM: The Chinese Gulag USSURI RIVER: Battle on Ice

ESSAY: Despair and Deliverance
Mao's China was rescued by Deng, writes actor Ying Ruocheng

ESSAY: Happy Birthday to Me!
Short-story writer Wang Shuo recalls the impact on his own life of some of China's earlier anniversaries

GATE OF HEAVENLY PEACE: Birth of a Nation
ZHONGNANHAI: The Inner Sanctum
SHANGHAI NORTH STATION: Exodus to Hong Kong
YALU RIVER: Taking on the Americans
XINGKAI LAKE PRISON FARM: The Chinese Gulag
QUEMOY: Standoff with Taiwan
XINYANG: A Leap to Starvation
LUSHAN: Mao Strikes Back
LHASA: Tibet's Spiritual Leader Flees
BEIJING BOTANICAL GARDENS: Humbled Emperor
FUSHUN: China Invents the Perfect Soldier
LOP NOR: Joining the Nuclear Club
DAZHAI: Mao's Model Commune
WUHAN: Swimming the Yangtze
PEKING UNIVERSITY: Creating Chaos
NANJING BRIDGE: Symbol of Strength
SHIYAN: Hidden Factories
USSURI RIVER: Battle on the Ice
THE GREAT WALL: Nixon's Breakthrough
XI'AN: A Treasure Is Unearthed
TANGSHAN: Ominous Rumbling
DEMOCRACY WALL: An Open Challenge
PINGXIANG: War with Vietnam
CHILDREN'S PALACE: Spoiling the Single Child
BEIJING FILM ACADEMY: Making Marvelous Movies
PEARL RIVER DELTA: Exporting to the World
HAINAN: Corrupt Island
WORKERS' STADIUM: Birth of Rock 'n' Roll
BEIDAIHE: Doing Business at the Beach
CHINA ART GALLERY: An Avant-Garde Explosion
TIANANMEN SQUARE: Hope and Repression
SANDOUPING: Building a Mega-Dam
SHENZHEN: Deng Reinvigorates Reform
DALIAN: City of the Future?
TECHNICAL INSTITUTE OF PHYSICAL CULTURE: Ma's Army
SPRATLY ISLANDS: China Flexes Its Muscle
HUAIROU: Creating an Agenda for Women
TAIPEI: Democracy Works in China
HONG KONG: Return of a Wayward Colony
KASHGAR: The Restless Perimeter
CHONGQING: The "Floating Population"
LANZHOU: Development's Dirty Little Secret
SHENYANG: Labor Gets Angry
BUYUN: One Man, One Vote
SHANGHAI: City of Illusions
RUILI: The Wild, Wild West
MENGLA: Pocket of Poverty
MEIZHOU ISLAND: Religion's Revival
HAIDIAN DISTRICT: A Silicon Valley of China's Own
MACAU: The Last Piece of the Puzzle

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