Chen and Hong begin their journey smack dab in the middle of China, and make travel all the way up to the northern borders of the country. They observe both changes and continuities in the geography, and changes in the culture as they travel from their village, to the city of Chengdu, and finally to Beijing. It is an eye-opening experience for both of the brothers.

The geography changes in the types of natural disasters that occur in the regions, but stays the same in the type of damage caused by the disasters, and the type of work done on the land. Although the boys don't experience it themselves, locusts are a threat to their village. In and near Chengdu there is a threat of flooding. Beijing faces dust storms and dry seasons. The three places are all faced with the same type of damage. All of these...