Book
August 2019: China through the looking glass
Christoph Rehage's book "The Longest Way" tells the story of a hike through China, from Beijing to Ürümqi, in 2008. After studying in Beijing, he sets off on a journey that takes him on foot through all of Asia and Europe to his home town of Bad Nenndorf. His journey is lined with "wonders of the world" such as the Great Wall, the Terracotta Army and the Silk Road. And yet it is the little wonders that make his journey unforgettable: the helpfulness and curiosity of China's village population, the surprising encounters with monks and fortune tellers, schoolchildren and pensioners, civil servants and prostitutes, the friendship with teacher Xie and his growing feelings for July, a girl from Sichuan, which - according to their agreement - will await him upon his arrival in Germany ...
Meanwhile 10 million viewers watched Christoph Rehage's video about his way on foot through China on YouTube and Vimeo. His book tells the whole story and was awarded the renowned ITB BookAward and the Globetrotter Travel Book Prize.
In his second book "Neueschweinstein", Christoph Rehage joined one of the many travel groups to Europe to find out what the Chinese really think about the Europeans and his homeland. The advantage: He speaks Mandarin fluently and can experience the experiences of the group intensively. On the programme of the thirteen-day exploratory tour are cultural stops such as Neuschwanstein Castle, Michelangelo's David in Florence and the Eiffel Tower in Paris. But also secret favourite destinations of the Chinese: Shopping centres and luxury boutiques. In his clever yet amusing book, Christoph Rehage not only explains the fascination of cuckoo clocks and German baby milk powder, but also provides interesting insights into a culture that is foreign to us.
Both books are published in German and translated to Chinese.
The Chinese versions of the books can be found in the library of Goethe-Institut Hongkong.
The original German version of the book "Neueschweinstein" is available on Onleihe.