Anthropologist Hill Gates sets off on a series of excursions through the inland province of Sichuan in search of a deeper understanding of the Chinese people. A feminist, Gates is especially curious to learn how the economic boom has effected the women of Sichuan, which was the birthplace of Chinese economic reforms in the 1970s. Along the countryside she meets scholars, sailors, patrons of a Tibetan dance-hall and women running family firms. It's a travelogue rich in anecdotes and perceptive observations of contemporary China.  (CHN74, $23.95)