Near the town center, a dramatic wooden house stood out from the standardized structures all around. A man, leaning forlornly above its wraparound balcony, looked over the rough, ad-covered fences marking it for destruction.
China became huge by conglomerating hundreds of ancient kingdoms of every size; a latecomer to national standardization is the huge…
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to John’s Substack to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.