The author describes his trip to the remotest parts of the country far away from the capital, including the Islamic area of Xinjiang province, the forbidden zone of Tibet, and Route 219, which borders India.

"First published in Great Britain in 2014"--Title page verso.

Part I. Xinjiang -- the new frontier. 1. 'Uighurs are like pandas' -- 2. The new Silk Road -- 3. Exiles -- 4. The great game again -- 5. Return to Kashgar -- 6. Three borders -- 7. Uighurstan -- Part II. Tibet -- the wild west. 8. The Tibetan borderlands -- 9. Lhasa -- 10. A night at the Nangma -- 11. U-Tsang -- 12. High plateau drifter -- 13. The precious jewel of the snows -- 14. Going down -- Part III. Yunnan -- trouble in paradise. 15. Shiny happy minorities -- 16. Dailand -- 17. Down the Mekong -- 18. The Dai diaspora -- 19. With the Wa -- 20. Women for sale -- Part IV. Dongbei -- pushing the boundaries. 21. The Pyongyang express -- 22. The third Korea -- 23. Spreading the word -- 24. The Arctic borderlands -- 25. Along the Amur -- 26. An empire expanding.