The Five Foot Road: In Search of a Vanished China

In 1994, Australian journalist and photographer Angus McDonald set out to retrace the route of another Australian in China and Burma (Myanmar), who completed his journey in 1894. George Morrison had written a book, entitled [b:An Australian in China: Being the Narrative of a Quiet Journey Across China to British Burma 2053909 An Australian in China Being the Narrative of a Quiet Journey Across China to British Burma George Ernest Morrison https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png 2059045], which included a number of photographs. McDonald decided to try and locate all of the photographs, and replicate them, a hundred years later.While proposed as a photography book, this book is more a travel narrative than the photography. There are apparently 100 photos in this book, but it didn't seem like it. Many are very good, but slightly unusual, and fit the travel narrative, not the intent of capturing Morrison's images. There are a dozen of so of the ‘then and now' shots, which are interesting.Morrison's route in China took him from Shanghai to Wuhan, to Yichang, to Chongqing, to Kunming to Dali. From here he crossed to Burma at Bhamo and continued to Mandalay and Rangoon. While McDonald retraced almost all of the route, he was not authorised (as opposed to being refused permission) to cross the border at Bhamo, and ended up tracing the Burma route in reverse towards the border.With, perhaps, the photographers eye, McDonald picked out things of interest, and introduced the history (particularly of 100 years prior) in an easy and readable way. He shared enough of his experiences without the book being dominated by his own journey, and enough of Morrison's journey that it was not solely about him either. Nicely balanced. A short, interesting book.The books title comes from a road between Chongqing and Dali, 1000km long, laid out in the Qin dynasty (221-206BC) as part of a road building program as part of the development of Chinese civilisation. The road, designed for foot traffic, was known as the Five Foot Road (Wuchidao) so-called because in many places five feet was as wide as they could make it.In googling to find out a little more about the author I was saddened to learn he died suddenly in 2013, at 51, once again in Burma (as he preferred to call it), during a brief respite from cancer.4 stars.