This acclaimed first novel takes us inside China today; into a land filled with contradictions, humor, drama, and beauty; into the small Chinese town of Shaoyang at a moment when the closing of the state-run Number Two Space Rocket Factory throws the contrasts between old world and new world into stark relief. With its soap-operatic array of compelling and wonderfully eccentric characters, The Drink and Dream Teahouse introduces a fresh and important new voice.