Book Event: The Mountains Are High

Internal migration within China is on the rise. Professionals dissatisfied with the relentless pace of life under China’s state capitalist model and political dissidents faced with an increasingly repressive authoritarian state are retreating from urban city centers for a quieter life in the countryside. What explains this growing “reverse migration,” and what does it look like on the ground? What are implications for Beijing, and for China’s international competitiveness in the years ahead? 

To explore these questions and more, please join the CSIS Freeman Chair in China Studies on April 23rd, 9:30-10:30am for a conversation with Alec Ash, author of The Mountains Are High: a year of escape and discovery in rural China (Scribe, February 2024). Ash is the Editor of China Books Review and is a Senior Fellow for the Center on U.S.-China Relations at the Asia Society. Jude Blanchette, Freeman Chair in China Studies, will moderate the discussion.  

This event is made possible through general support to CSIS.