Finding India in China whisks the reader on a whirlwind journey through China’s margins. In part an intellectual travelogue, the voyage equally mixes in humorous anecdotes, oddball encounters, and thoughtful reflections on the vastness that is China.

With her distinct Indian perspective, Anurag Viswanath slices through preconceptions and shibboleths in her interactions with a motley set of characters—from Muslim housewives in Xinjiang to Mongols dressing up for tourism, from academics to party officials to migrant workers.