by Lijia Zhang – China Sundown left a trail of blood-red clouds in the western sky, yet evening offered no respite from the burning heat. With the plum rain season at an end Nanjing renewed its reputation as one of…

by Lijia Zhang – China – Since the reform and opening up, a handful of young people have begun to worship capitalism,” preached political instructor Wang Aimin, the ideologue-in-chief of our unit, spittle flying over his notes and out into…

by Lijia Zhang – China – CLICK, CLACK, CLICK, CLACK … When the percussive tap sounded from the corridor outside I was instantly alert. Soon, the source arrived in the doorway and walked into the workshop. “Masters, have you all…

by Lijia Zhang – China – For ten years, I worked in a missile factory on the banks of the Yangtze River. Although I grew up in the residential compound of my mother’s factory, and all my friends were the…