# Riding the Iron Rooster

Canonical: https://www.bookquiver.com/paul-theroux/riding-the-iron-rooster/9780241958834

![Riding the Iron Rooster](https://quivercdn.com/covers/penguin/paul-theroux/riding-the-iron-rooster_978-02-4195-883-4.jpg?v=2026-04-25%2014%3A05%3A30)

- Book: [Riding the Iron Rooster](https://www.bookquiver.com/paul-theroux/riding-the-iron-rooster) ([Riding the Iron Rooster.md](https://www.bookquiver.com/paul-theroux/riding-the-iron-rooster.md))
- Authors: [Paul Theroux](https://www.bookquiver.com/paul-theroux)
- Publisher: Penguin
- Medium: ebook
- ISBN: 978-02-4195-883-4
- Published: 2011-12-15
- Language: en_GB
- Binding: E-book

## Description

Paul Theroux left Victoria Station on a rainy Saturday in April thinking that taking eight trains across Europe, Eastern Europe, the USSR and Mongolia would be the easy way to get to the Chinese border – the relaxing way, even. He would read a little, take notes, eat regular meals and gaze contentedly out of windows. The reality, of course, was very different. In fact, Theroux experienced a decidedly odd and unexpected trip to China that set the challenging tone for his epic year-long rail journey around that vast, inscrutable land – a journey which involved riding nearly every train in the country. ‘Wry, humorful and occasionally querulous … as Theroux makes excruciatingly clear, travelling alone in the Middle Kingdom is not for the faint of heart or stomach’ Time.