Naranjas de la China

Naranjas de la China (“Chinese Oranges”) narrates the long journey of young westerner who, moved by curiosity, travels to Beijing to learn Mandarin and ends up spending a decade. There, he is imbued with Chinese culture and tells us in great detail how the Asiatic giant really is.

Julio Arias narrates with humor and passion his experience like a travelogue, all while submerging the reader in the reality of a fascinating country.

The author skillfully describes how to go about doing business in China all while explaining the daily problems faced by any expatriate who wishes to become one more Beijing citizen. He tells us what the social mores and the formulas are to get started in the Chinese commercial environment, as well as the role played by the authorities in the Asiatic giant and how to deal with them. He also tells what are the concerns and aspirations of Chinese society in a country in deep transformation.

“Fun, bubbling and very interesting. (…) It opens the doors to a society in full ebullience.” From the preface by Javier Moro

In “Chinese Oranges” the author gives a light-hearted, pleasant and accurate account of his daily life in Beijing and submerges the reader in the reality of a complex country. La Vanguardia

Few authors, including the most prestigious, specialized in China and with pompous academic titles, have delved with such precision into the specific social reality as Arias has whilst describing, with contained humor and always respectful, the adoption of a cat to hiring domestic service in a city such as Beijing. El Cultural