Guizhou

Mountainous province in south-west China. The pin is the province’s representative point.

At a glance

SourceAuthorRoleIn one line
BreakneckDan WangsubjectA poor province rebuilt with bridges, expressways and rail, and buried in debt.

Sub-places

Breakneck — Dan Wang (2025)

Source: Readwise highlight

Over five days, we cycled nearly four hundred miles through Guizhou province and arrived in the city of Chongqing.

  • Role: subject
  • In the book: Chapter 2’s extended case. In 2021 the author and two friends cycled nearly four hundred miles across the province to Chongqing; Guizhou, long poor and mountainous, has been transformed by bridges, expressways, high-speed rail and data centres, but carries heavy debt and underused airports.
  • Why it matters: The book’s extreme example of the engineering state’s building strategy, with both its benefits and its costs.