Foreign Babes In Beijing: Behind The Scenes Of A New China

Description:
Hoping to improve her Chinese and broaden her cultural horizons, Rachel DeWoskin went to work for an American PR firm in China. Before she knew it, she was not just exploring, but making Chinese culture, as the sexy and aggressive, fearless Jiexi, star of a wildly successful soap opera. A Chinese counterpart to 'Sex and the City' revolving around Chinese-Western culture clashes, the show was called 'Foreign Babes in Beijing'. Living the clashes in real life while playing out a parallel version onscreen, Rachel forms a group of friends with whom she witnesses the vast changes sweeping through China. In only a few years, billboards, stylish bars and discos, international restaurants, fashion shows, divorce, foreign visitors, and cross-cultural love affairs transform the face of China's capital. 'Foreign Babes in Beijing' is as astute and informative as it is witty, moving and entertaining.

Review:
* 'For a real insider's look at life in modern China, readers should turn to the work of Rachel DeWoskin' The Economist * 'DeWoskin paints a lively, chaotic portrait of the country in the 1990s, particularly through the people she meets, caught between east and west, old and new' New Statesman * 'One of the best introductions to modern China you are likely to find- intelligent, articulate, painlessly informative and endlessly entertaining' Taipei Times * 'A fresh and clear- eyed portrait of a young woman's strange, shocking and wonderful adventures in modern China' Sunday Morning Post (South China)

Author Biography:
Rachel DeWoskin was a soap-opera star and consultant in Beijing for five years before she returned to the United States. She divides her time between New York City and Beijing.