How long would it take to walk across the most populous and third largest country in the world? Graham Earnshaw, a long time China-based reporter, answers the question and illustrates it with interviews, conversations and experiences in his brand new book The Great Walk of China.

Hitting the shelves earlier this month, The Great Walk of China tells the story of Earnshaw's journey on foot from coastal Shanghai to Tibet, covering a distance of more than 2,000 kilometers over five years.

Entering China's heartland and told through candid conversations with thousands of local people encountered on the way, Earnshaw presents a first hand look at the lives and experiences of local villagers, dealing with the huge transformations of China today.

The journey was not a continuous one, Earnshaw walked when he had time, usually once a month and always starting from the last place he stopped and always heading west. He passed through two municipalities, five provinces and countless towns and villages to arrive at his destination, Tibet.

"The book came out of the walk. I started the walk from Shanghai in 2004 and as it progressed I felt that my observations and perspective on the little things I was seeing along the way may have a value. So I started to write monthly articles on the walk for China Economic Review magazine and eventually collected them into this book," Earnshaw told the Global Times.

He said that it was Edwin Dingle's Across China on Foot that motivated his journey, but empha-sized that Dingle did not really cross China on foot, instead he traveled mainly by boat, thus inspiration suddenly hit him to walk every step of the way.

The book is composed of thousands of memorable interactions, glimpses of vistas and paddy fields and conversations with children and grandmothers.

Brimming with objective descriptions and dialogue, the book sometimes reads like a diary, tracing Earnshaw's journey from one village to another.

"The aim of this book was to pass on, in a non-judgmental way, a series of observations," Earnshaw explained. "I did not write it to pontificate about what the real China is or should be. I wanted to let people see China through my eyes and draw their own conclusions. In fact, there is analysis and commentary from me on just about every page, but it is more subtle."

Earnshaw said that as a long time reporter in China, he is very interested in how China and the West interact and that was one of the purposes of his trek.

"The whole relationship between China and the rest of the world is complex and fascinating and there are no simple statements that cover the topic, but I would say that there is a predisposition on the part of Chinese people to get on with the rest of the world and I am positive about the prospects," he said.

The long journey and time span sees Earnshaw paint a vivid picture of the China that he experienced.

"China is a complex place. I guess the readership I am aiming at is anyone who is interested in China beyond the clichés. There is more to this country than pandas, the Great Wall and fake Louis Vuitton bags. This is hopefully a more nuanced analysis of China than most."

Born in 1952 and starting his journalistic coverage of China in 1973 in Hong Kong, Earnshaw is fluent in Mandarin and currently works as a publisher. Intent on recording the fast changes of the country, he also works as a freelance writer for a range of international publications.

On a more personal level, Earnshaw's passion for music has seen him organize several bands as lead singer and guitarist over the years, performing in Shanghai and Beijing. He also translated Louis Cha's kung fu novel The Book and The Sword into English and his first book, On Your Own in China, a travel guide, was published in 1984. Despite his long history with China, Earnshaw said that his journey is far from over.

"I have decided never to end the walk. I go walking at least once a month, always starting from the last place that I stopped. It is not a race and I will sit and talk to farmers for hours if I like."

Book tag The Great Walk of China by Graham Earnshaw 341pp, Blacksmith Books, $16.95