Isabel Hilton is a London-based writer and broadcaster who has reported extensively from China and Hong Kong
July 2015
China’s stock market crash is a problem for the whole world
Isabel Hilton
Europe is currently preoccupied by Greece, but soon we may all be feeling the trauma of China’s small investors
March 2015
The Four Books review – Yan Lianke holds China to account for Maoist atrocities
Four fictional texts are bravely interwoven to tell the tale of the Great Leap Forward in this banned novel
December 2014
Frog by Mo Yan review – the Chinese Nobel laureate’s award-winning novel
China’s brutal one-child policy is the backdrop for Mo Yan’s tale of village life. By Isabel Hilton
August 2014
The Emperor Far Away review – an ambitious guide to China's far-flung corners
The Birth of Korean Cool review – the making of a cultural superpower
July 2014
Age of Ambition; The New Emperors reviews – two studies of modern China
China: a great power we can't trust
Isabel Hilton
April 2014
Decoded by Mai Jia review – 'An intriguing Chinese thriller'
This slow-burning story of cryptographers working under the communist state marks the UK debut of one of China's bestselling novelists, writes Isabel Hilton
March 2014
China's Muslims will pay a heavy price for the Kunming knife attacks
Isabel Hilton
Isabel Hilton: There's no evidence that the Kunming station attack had any connection to global jihad, but that won't prevent a crackdown
January 2014
Ping-Pong Diplomacy by Nicholas Griffin – review
Junkyard Planet by Adam Minter – review
December 2013
China's dispute with Japan risks an accidental conflict
Isabel Hilton
Isabel Hilton: The row over the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands is a toxic mix of two rising nationalisms and unresolved mutual resentments
November 2013
The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan – review
This quest for love between two cultures examines Chinese-American identity and mother-daughter relationships. By Isabel Hilton
October 2013
Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China by Jung Chang – review
Is a vigorous defence of a ruthless ruler, and murderer, justified, asks Isabel Hilton
What does China want with Britain's nuclear industry?
Isabel Hilton
Isabel Hilton: The Chinese state is not philanthropic. Questions about safety, sovereignty and cost should be asked before we take its money
The Tragedy of Liberation: A History of the Chinese Revolution 1945-1957 by Frank Dikötter – review
Detailed it may be, but Frank Dikötter's critique of the early years of Chinese communist rule is relentlessly partial, writes Isabel Hilton
June 2013
If China is to realise its urban dream, it should drop the Los Angeles model
Isabel Hilton
Isabel Hilton: China's urbanisation is the biggest and fastest social movement in human history – but it involves unsustainably sprawling cities
April 2013
Hanging Man: The Arrest of Ai Weiwei, by Barnaby Martin – review
This account, based on illicit interviews, reveals an artist weakened by incarceration, but a figurehead still for one of the world's most vital cultural movements, says Isabel Hilton
March 2013
Lenin's Kisses by Yan Lianke – review
A dark satire on the money-making fever that swept China in the 90s, writes Isabel Hilton
January 2013
Now China's new leaders will have to work hard
Isabel Hilton
Isabel Hilton: How they deal with future economic challenges and the Tibet crisis will test whether the claim to wise meritocracy is credible
