Beijing, 1935. China is beset with problems – the capital has been moved to Nanjing, the Japanese are invading Manchuria, and warlords jostle for positions of power elsewhere. Chiang Kai-shek is fighting the Communists supported by Muslims from China’s western regions. It is just before WWII, and China is in a mess as the world plunges towards global havoc.

John DeFrancis, then a young man in his 20’s, steps into the expat hangout bar in the Beijing Hotel, then the place to have a drink, to ponder the growing chaos, have love affairs and file stories back to the international news agencies (The bar has recently reopened as the Writers Bar in the Beijing Raffles Hotel). Looking for adventure, excitement and basically, something crazy to do, he hooks up with Desmond Martin, a Canadian explorer with just such tastes.

Over gin and tonics, the pair of them come up with a scheme to explore the China-Mongolian borders where Genghis Khan invaded China, twelve hundred years earlier. Quite apart from the dangerous situation at the time in China’s countryside, they have to endure large tracts of the Gobi, marauding bandits, a lack of supplies with really only their wits and the goodwill of a few friendly temples to help them on their way. They travel north to Hohhot, across Inner Mongolia to Baotou, following the Yellow River down to Lanzhou, then up the Gansu corridor to Jiuquan, until they reach their final destination – the lost Mongol city of Etsina (now in western inner Mongolia). They are shot at, starve, get sunburnt, freeze, and explore some of the least accessible and remote parts of the region. In the process they become the last to travel large sections of their route—most of the area became militarized and has been off limits for more than 60 years.

DeFrancis, now in his 90’s, relates this tale of adventure and madness with aplomb, ready wit and a remarkable capacity to remember his exploits as a young man. This is a thunderously good adventure tale, and one can only marvel at the impetuous nature of youth and how they managed to pull of such a journey without getting killed. It is exciting, dynamic and a must read for all those who love to get out into China’s wild areas. CE