The Lake Palaces

Most of the story is set in the Lake Palaces within the Forbidden City. Mei is brought here from her village, and this is where she and the dancing troupe interact with the Chairman and the cadre. The Lake Palaces are luxurious, beautiful and isolated. The reader should focus on the decadence of this setting in contrast to the other settings that feature in the story. Life in the Palaces is far better than life in the rural villages where villagers contend with disease and starvation. Life in the Palaces is also better than life in most of Beijing, which eventually becomes overrun with violence.

At first, Mei is awed by the beauty and luxury. She grows weary of this setting as the story progresses, though. Mei eventually becomes anxious of being exiled from the Palaces (like Busy Shan), and she finds herself in competition with...