News & Insights Across Asia
Alai, acclaimed author and youngest recipient of the Mao Dun Literature Prize, balances writing with roles like sci-fi editor and botanist, believing humans are both the starting point and destination.
Renowned author Alai believes the true essence of writing lies in the journey of exploration. Known for works like Red Poppies, he emphasizes that the process helps deepen his understanding of complex themes.
Writer Alai reflects on the creation of his acclaimed novel ‘Red Poppies’ in 1994, a process intertwined with the changing seasons of his hometown Maerkang in Sichuan Province, southwest China.
Ten years after volunteering at the epicenter of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, writer Alai releases ‘In the Cloud,’ a novel reflecting on the disaster’s aftermath through poetic narrative.