On the Road in China, Part 1: The Journey Begins

NPR | By Rob Gifford

Published August 2, 2004 at 12:00 AM EDT

Map showing Rob Gifford's western route across China

Women sew clothes at the Huashang factory in Shanghai. Many young workers come from the countryside to the city, where they can earn far more than at home.

If the 21st century belongs to China, then the city that will be at the heart of that success will be Shanghai. The boomtown on China's eastern Pacific shores attracts migrants from thousands of miles away who come seeking higher wages in a sea of factories.

Home to much of China's new and growing middle class, the city is also the starting point of Route 312, reminiscent of the old U.S. Route 66, which will take NPR's Rob Gifford on a 3,000-mile journey across the country to China's westernmost reaches. It's the first of seven reports from his 14-day trek.

Rob Gifford

Rob Gifford is the NPR foreign correspondent based in Shanghai.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

Donate