Get Discount 10% Off
Subscribe to our newsletters now and stay up-to-date with new arrivals, updates and deals.
MILLIONS OF TITLES TO CHOOSE FROM
Currency
The Wall Dancers: Searching for Freedom and Connection on the Chinese Internet
An eye-opening exploration of the Chinese internet that reveals the intricate dance between freedom and control in...
- $47.37 USD
$89.99 USD- $47.37 USD
- Unit price
- per
Please hurry! Only 588 left in stock
Couldn't load pickup availability
An eye-opening exploration of the Chinese internet that reveals the intricate dance between freedom and control in contemporary China "The Wall Dancers is history told in a gripping, novelistic style. It is at once a crash course in contemporary Chinese politics and culture and an epic story about human drive, desperation, and ingenuity against inordinate odds. Yi-Ling Liu has written a masterwork."
--Jonathan Blitzer, New York Times bestselling author of Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here In the late 1990s, as the world was waking up to the power and emancipatory promise of the internet, Chinese authorities began constructing a system of online surveillance and censorship now known as the Great Firewall. But far from being a barren landscape, the digital world that sprouted up behind the firewall brimmed with new subcultures and tech innovations, offering many Chinese citizens previously unimaginable connection and opportunity. Today, as the country's leadership intensifies its control of public discourse and Western headlines reduce the Chinese public to a faceless monolith, journalist Yi-Ling Liu presents an intimate portrait of China's online ecosystem--and a crucial lens into the on-the-ground reality of life there. Tracing the last three decades of the Chinese internet's evolution--from its lexicon to its memes to the precise nature of its censorship--she equips readers with a critical tool to assess the past, present, and future of a global power. Drawing on years of firsthand reporting, The Wall Dancers weaves together the stories of individuals navigating China's transformation into both the world's largest online user base and one of its most populous authoritarian states. As these entrepreneurs, activists, artists, and dreamers experience the internet's power as a tool for both control and liberation, they grapple with universal questions of success and authenticity, love and solidarity, faith and resilience. The Wall Dancers is at once an unforgettable work of human storytelling and a vital exploration of what it means to live with dignity and hope within the technological systems that now shape all our lives.
Author: Yi-Ling Liu
Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
Published: 02/03/2026
Pages: 336
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 9.40h x 6.20w x 1.40d
ISBN: 9780593491850
Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 11/15/2025
Publishers Weekly 12/15/2025
About the Author
YI-LING LIU's work has been published in The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Harper's Magazine, WIRED, and The New York Review of Books. She has been a New America Fellow, a recipient of the Matthew Power Literary Reporting Award, and an Overseas Press Club Foundation Scholar. Born and raised in Hong Kong, and a graduate of Yale University, she now lives in London.
--Jonathan Blitzer, New York Times bestselling author of Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here In the late 1990s, as the world was waking up to the power and emancipatory promise of the internet, Chinese authorities began constructing a system of online surveillance and censorship now known as the Great Firewall. But far from being a barren landscape, the digital world that sprouted up behind the firewall brimmed with new subcultures and tech innovations, offering many Chinese citizens previously unimaginable connection and opportunity. Today, as the country's leadership intensifies its control of public discourse and Western headlines reduce the Chinese public to a faceless monolith, journalist Yi-Ling Liu presents an intimate portrait of China's online ecosystem--and a crucial lens into the on-the-ground reality of life there. Tracing the last three decades of the Chinese internet's evolution--from its lexicon to its memes to the precise nature of its censorship--she equips readers with a critical tool to assess the past, present, and future of a global power. Drawing on years of firsthand reporting, The Wall Dancers weaves together the stories of individuals navigating China's transformation into both the world's largest online user base and one of its most populous authoritarian states. As these entrepreneurs, activists, artists, and dreamers experience the internet's power as a tool for both control and liberation, they grapple with universal questions of success and authenticity, love and solidarity, faith and resilience. The Wall Dancers is at once an unforgettable work of human storytelling and a vital exploration of what it means to live with dignity and hope within the technological systems that now shape all our lives.
Author: Yi-Ling Liu
Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
Published: 02/03/2026
Pages: 336
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 9.40h x 6.20w x 1.40d
ISBN: 9780593491850
Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 11/15/2025
Publishers Weekly 12/15/2025
About the Author
YI-LING LIU's work has been published in The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Harper's Magazine, WIRED, and The New York Review of Books. She has been a New America Fellow, a recipient of the Matthew Power Literary Reporting Award, and an Overseas Press Club Foundation Scholar. Born and raised in Hong Kong, and a graduate of Yale University, she now lives in London.
Returns Policy
You may return most new, unopened items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. We'll also pay the return shipping costs if the return is a result of our error (you received an incorrect or defective item, etc.).
You should expect to receive your refund within four weeks of giving your package to the return shipper, however, in many cases you will receive a refund more quickly. This time period includes the transit time for us to receive your return from the shipper (5 to 10 business days), the time it takes us to process your return once we receive it (3 to 5 business days), and the time it takes your bank to process our refund request (5 to 10 business days).
If you need to return an item, simply login to your account, view the order using the "Complete Orders" link under the My Account menu and click the Return Item(s) button. We'll notify you via e-mail of your refund once we've received and processed the returned item.
Shipping
We can ship to virtually any address in the world. Note that there are restrictions on some products, and some products cannot be shipped to international destinations.
When you place an order, we will estimate shipping and delivery dates for you based on the availability of your items and the shipping options you choose. Depending on the shipping provider you choose, shipping date estimates may appear on the shipping quotes page.
Please also note that the shipping rates for many items we sell are weight-based. The weight of any such item can be found on its detail page. To reflect the policies of the shipping companies we use, all weights will be rounded up to the next full pound.
- Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh.