Just recently finished an absolutely amazing book- The Red Book of Chinese Martyrs by Gerolamo Fazzini. Originally published in Italian, you really don't have to be Catholic, or even religious at all, to marvel at these inspiring and incredible stories of terror and oppression, faith and courage, before the backdrop of a country in the early throes of going officially insane.
It may seem hard to conceive now, but China once had a thriving, rapidly growing, and devout population of Roman Catholics. But from as early as 1950, as Mao tightened his grip on China and loosened his grip on reality, Catholics became a top-priority target of persecution. Nearly all foreign priests and bishops were expelled from the country, while Chinese priests were relentlessly subjected to intimidation, imprisonment, and public humiliation.
Most of the people whose stories are told in this book are not martyrs in the classic sense...with the exception of some monks living in a monastery on the Shandong island of Yangjiaping, they were not killed for their faith. But many faced conditions that made them wish for death...yet persevered to turn their stories into triumphs. Nearly all the subjects are priests or monks, but one is the story of a young woman, a layperson, who worked at a church.
She wrote her story on pieces of paper she'd cut to fit the shoe soles of an Italian priest who visited her in prison, who then smuggled them out of the prison in his shoes.
My favorite story is that of Father Joseph Li Chang. His persecution and treatment is not the worst described in this book, but it's how he dealt with it that's so absolutely glorious.
I don't think you'll exactly be finding many copies of this within China, but if you get the chance it truly is an awesome read.