"China is the rising power of the early 21st century. In recent years, its economy has turned into a driving locomotive for the entire Asian continent. Undoubtedly, the country has become an important factor in global politics and economics with a tremendous impact on the political, social and...

Introduction: ways of living, ways of knowing -- From scramblers for fruit to banana empire, 1870-1930 -- Tropical vexations -- Corporate welfarism meets the tropics -- Wandering foci of infection -- Becoming banana cowboys -- Serving science on the side -- Conclusion