Foreign Babes in Beijing: Behind the Scenes of a New China by by Rachel DeWoskin (2005)

This is a story of Rachel growing up as a person (as some of her friends questioning if this was for the better) and China changing into a capitalistic society. Rachel accidentally ended up finding a job with a foreign company in Beijing, after as per her own admission really no other employers were interested in her (although she did not speak Chinese, which one would have hoped for as she spent her childhood in Asia with her sinologist parents). In addition to being a office worker bee, she also become a fairly well known (at least in China) soap opera star playing the role a foreign "seductress". She also becomes an old hand in the Beijing expatriate community simply based on her long stay in the country, and the book offers observations on Chinese customs and culture, and a reflection on the living style of various members of the society. The book ends on a disturbing note, exposing the hatred for all things foreign, as displayed after the bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. One wonders what is the "real" face of China and the Chinese like? ...