In China at its Limits Matthias Messmer and Hsin-Mei Chuang remind us of the complex history of China’s border relations with its 14 neighbors that will complicate China’s grand infrastructure and trade strategy, the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as its foreign policy in the years to come. As the authors meander through small towns on China’s peripheries, encountering both suspicion and curiosity, they present a richly illustrated travelogue that retells the historical drama of China’s border relations and is both informed by historical sources and conversant with contemporary political controversies.

Chuang and Messmer have used photographs evocatively to present the history of the borders between China and her neighbours. Both China and her neighbours will be forced to take stock of the past and search for a way to deal with China’s rising global influence. I believe these photographs and the accompanying text will make a definitive contribution to shaping the dialogue that will come.

A very timely and interesting book which will both help and provoke much discussion.

Matthias Messmer and Hsin-Mei Chuang have written a book that is as enthralling as it is important. Most books about the rise of China tend to focus on the major cities of the eastern coast. Messmer and Chuang invite the reader to explore all of China's borderlands--not only her complex coastline and the contested waters between her and her maritime neighbors, but also her land border. From the geopolitical hotspot that is the Korean frontier, along the Russian-Chinese faultline, through Mongolia, Xinjiang and Tibet, the reader is treated to a marvelous combination of history, travel writing and gripping photography. Most of this was terra incognita to me. China at its Limits takes you there. It is more than just a book; it is an exploration of forgotten places. When they are suddenly in the news, as some of them surely will be soon, you will be thankful that you read it.

A marvelous, well-written, thoughtful and knowledgeable combination of history and personal observations of China's borderlands, enhanced by photographs. The book offers much to be learned--even by those of us who think we know China.