Rob Gifford's eight-part radio series about travelling along Route 312 was broadcast to acclaim to NPR's 22 million listeners. China is experiencing an unprecedented period of cultural and economic boom

Running 3,000 miles from the eat-coast boomtown of Shanghai to the border of Kazakhstan in the north-west, Route 312 - China's 'Route 66' - is a road that Rob Gifford has always wanted to travel. Gifford's journey and his desire to get to the heart of this country make China Road an outstanding and funny travel narrative - part pilgrimage, part reportage - which illuminates a country on the move.