By Stephanie B. Tansey Publisher: New World Press

I am greatly encouraged by the stories of these nine Beijingers. As an American educated in a Beijing primary school during the mid- to late 1950s who returned to teach at what was then the Beijing Foreign Languages Institute #1 (now the Beijing Foreign Studies University) at the tail end of the Cultural Revolution in the mid-1970s, did doctoral dissertation research at Suzhou University for a year in the mid-1980s, and who spends a few months in China most years with her Chinese husband and family, I have some idea of the daunting obstacles facing those who would work towards sustainability in China, as well as some of the possibilities for harnessing the Chinese people's energies and determination towards these ends. This personal background makes me particularly impressed by what all these Beijing citizens exhibit: a straightforward honesty and a willingness to look the tremendous obstacles in the eye and persist nonetheless in "doing the right thing" no matter what.

Especially the Chinese women, such as Professor He, Wang Zhiqin, and Zhang Zhimin, show both their own strength of character and the powerful aspects of Chinese culture as a whole. Zhang's narrative struck me as the least outwardly upbeat of them, in that she describes effort after effort to create the right thing to help revitalize her community. A well-educated intellectual, she communicates and teaches by modeling for farmers the vital need to reconnect their lives to the land. At the same time, she defends the soil and the art of agriculture to urban citizens who are blind to such things, or can't be bothered. She is a constant reminder of what it means to "walk the talk." So much of what she did just "didn't work." But still she wouldn't consider retreat, and finds signs of progress where most of us would have long ago given up. She is, indeed, a force to be reckoned with.

Professor He is the first one in the book to cop to so many "failures". Cooperatives at the local level, cooperatives operating under capitalism, trying to get people to care (a theme others echo) – the reader can feel the weight of the obstacles, yet Prof. He just keeps on. I love what she has to say about the intellectuals/urbanites. Such people, Professor He points out, should learn to communicate deeply with and convey a deep respect towards the villagers, rather than go in and lord it over them in their effort to help. Urban citizens also need to learn how to collaborate with villagers if they want to be effective. At the same time, Professor He is confident that cooperation will build the sort of cohesive "moral fiber" that most people recognize as having been damaged by so much rapid economic development. Daunting as the task may be she "stubbornly" believes that such cooperation will create the right relationships between city and countryside, intellectuals and farmers, etc.

The Rouliqiu section is fascinating, and again, a fresh and unexpected topic, as is the kite chapter with Yang Jing. Wang Zhiqin's engineering mindset is transformed by a mind-body activity that is both modern and ancient. It connects her to a happiness that her career could not give her. The deep and wonderful balance between the game and her social time is a lesson to us all. Her mastery of teaching comes from this balance.

Yang Jing's expressive description of what it is like to be with his kite is a far different vision of modern Beijing than one might expect from a young guy. Play is more important, and has more to inspire him than his work. This is not how Americans usually view Chinese people. The value of play, of open-mindedness, and the value of putting your own stamp on globalization and making it successful demonstrate the wisdom, strength, and care of ordinary people.

Yang Ke's impassioned expression of hope and determination is truly exciting. Her views are quite enlightening, and as is said at the outset, rather unexpected from a government "bureaucrat." Again, it's encouraging to learn that this kind of work is being done, and seriously, among China's young people. Yang, too, surprises me with her openness, and impresses me with her careful consideration of historical factors and developments, recognition of mistakes or fuzzy thinking at times on the part of the leadership, and her gentle way of educating. She knows her stuff.

The section on Little Donkey Farm tells us about a group of young people influenced by a strong mentor at their institute. Their widely varying personalities and specific interests come through in their stories. The interweaving of their hopes and dreams as young men, their powerful hunger to help revive the natural environment, their struggle to understand, enrich and revitalize the farmer and the land, portrays a keen perseverance. This perseverance, in turn, creates a fascinating outcome as they wind up as such a tightly knit team at the farm.

Mac Fan's deep concern for food safety is something that continues in play throughout the book. Even when he is so clearly in despair he still is able to point to easy, feasible ways Chinese people can educate and defend themselves and lead healthy lives. Even when he acknowledges that we all will be playing defense for quite some time as we try to avoid toxins, he also shows us how to live by example, to communicate deeply, and that people can help each other find the right way to live.

The chapters on Jim Spear (and his family) and Betsy Damon are truly inspiring. Jim seems to be "writing the book" on achieving a balanced life, and shows by example how to live what some have called "intercultural dignity." Betsy is a visionary holding up a lantern to show us one of the most basic life realities, living water, and how to have it right in Beijing. These people are really making a difference, really creating bridges between peoples and cultures, nature and humanity, and seem to go about it with profound humility. Marvelous.

This is important stuff for people to know. Americans need to know what is really going on in China. They need to get a taste of what people are like in China and what it takes to make a difference here. How such Beijingers come to think what they think. What their hopes and dreams are like. What 5000 years of Chinese culture feels like consciously and how it can influence today for the better. How it can influence tomorrow. These Beijingers are really doing it.

Nancy Hodes is PhD, Professor of Chinese Language and Culture, Soka University of America.

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