From their very beginnings, China and India have been walled off from each other: by the towering summits of the Himalayas, by a vast and impenetrable jungle, by hostile tribes and remote inland kingdoms stretching a thousand miles from Calcutta across Burma to the upper Yangtze River.Soon this last great frontier will vanishthe forests cut down, dirt roads replaced by superhighways, insurgencies crushedleaving China and India exposed to each other as never before. This basic shift in geographyas sudden and profound as the opening of the Suez Canalwill lead to unprecedented connections among the three billion people of Southeast Asia and the Far East.What will this change mean? Thant Myint-U is in a unique position to know. Over the past few years he has traveled extensively across this vast territory, where high-speed trains and gleaming new shopping malls are now coming within striking distance of the last far-flung rebellions and impoverished mountain communities. And he has explored the new strategic centrality of Burma, where Asiaœs two rising, giant powers appear to be vying for supremacy.At once a travelogue, a work of history, and an informed look into the future, Where China Meets India takes us across the fast-changing Asian frontier, giving us a masterful account of the regionœs long and rich history and its sudden significance for the rest of the world.
Content Note
pt. 1. The back door. Irrawaddy dreaming ; Cousins ; The Burma Road ; Lords of the sunset ; New frontiers -- pt. 2. Southwestern barbarians. The Malacca dilemma ; South of the clouds ; Gandhara ; Shangri-La ; Between China and the deep blue sea -- pt. 3. The edge of Hindustan. Looking east ; Forgotten partitions; Inner lines ; Instruments of accession.