China Road vs The Middle Kingdom: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: China, Manners and customs, Description and travel, Travel, Social life and customs
China Road
Route 312 is the Chinese Route 66. It flows three thousand miles from east to west, passing through the factory towns of the coastal areas, through the rural heart of China, then up into the Gobi Desert, where it merges…
vs
The Middle Kingdom
First published in 2009. This work by S. Wells Williams is a complete look at the Chinese Empire during the mid-nineteenth century. Subjects include the divisions of the Empire, geographical descriptions, religion and…
The verdict
- Readers rate China Road highest: China Road 4.1 · The Middle Kingdom 3.9.
- China Road is the quickest read — about 6 hours vs 15 for The Middle Kingdom.
- The Middle Kingdom has the widest readership — 1622 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| China Road | The Middle Kingdom | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | — | 3.9 (1622) |
| Hardcover | 3.8 (8) | 3.4 (8) |
| Google Books | 4.5 (5) | — |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (16) | — |
Reception
| China Road | The Middle Kingdom | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 16 | 1622 |
| Editions | 15 | 47 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | — | 1651 |
| Reading it now | — | 25 |
| Written reviews | — | 83 |
| Wikipedia attention | 58 | 1042 |
| Pages | 342 | 810 |