Encounters

Born in Beijing, William Yip moved to Hong Kong with his family when he was six. In 2015, he moved back to his birthplace and focused on new musicals and drama education for young people in the Chinese mainland.

The Spring Festival is the most important festival during the year for Chinese people. It's a time when people return home for a big family reunion. For some, the week-long holiday is even a time for marriage proposals and talk of wedding plans. Encounters invited four expats living in Beijing to share their memories about the Spring Festival.

Enoch Li founded "Bearapy" to help companies navigate organizational changes using a psycho-dynamic approach. She uses the psychology of playfulness for adult creativity, learning, and stress management.

Enoch Li shares her personal journey in battling severe depression and finding a way out of it through rediscovering her inner child.

Enoch Li is a social entrepreneur who founded her own B2B enterprise called 'Bearapy'. She has worked with multinationals, governments, and start-ups across Asia-Pacific and Europe, advocating emotional and mental health awareness to prevent burnout, depression, suicide and related issues.

The Chinese language is probably one of the most challenging to learn for native English speakers. To Richard Sears, an American enthusiast for ancient Chinese characters, studying the Chinese language was not just the impulse of youth, but a lifelong pursuit.

Richard Sears is widely known as 汉字叔叔, or Uncle Hanzi in China, a nickname given by Chinese netizens. At the age of 69, he has contributed a third of his life to the study of the Chinese language.

What's the first thing that comes to mind at the mention of Beijing? The hustle and bustle of the capital of one of the world's largest economies, or the ancient city whose history can be dated back 3,000 years? In Hao Jingfang's short story 'Folding Beijing', the author depicts the city as a rotating and highly hierarchical society.

Hao Jingfang is a Chinese science fiction writer. Her story “Folding Beijing” won the 2016 Hugo Award for Best Novelette, marking the first Hugo awarded to a Chinese woman. Jingfang used to work as a researcher at the China Development Research Foundation for six years. She now runs a startup in the field of child education, aiming to bring high quality general education to Chinese children.

One of Minter Dial’s works is the award-winning documentary film and book that he produced and wrote, “The Last Ring Home”. It’s the story of Minter’s grandfather’s missing ring, which miraculously made its way home 17 years after he was killed in World War II as a Japanese prisoner of war.

Minter Dial is an internationally known speaker and consultant on brand strategy and digital transformation. He is also a filmmaker and author of three books. In a brief introduction on his personal website, Minter describes himself as an “itinerant bohemian” in search of experiences and interesting people.

The Beijing Sound Museum is the creation of British conceptual artist Colin Chinnery. Most of the sounds you’ve heard in the museum can no longer be found in the capital today. Over the past few years, Colin has devoted himself to recording sundry sounds of traditional Beijing culture, as he feels some may soon fade away as urban development accelerates.

Colin Chinnery is a British artist and curator based in Beijing. One of his most popular art works is the Beijing Sound Museum in an old quadrangle courtyard, which recreates the history of the city using only sound.

In the field of economics, there have long been discussions about the underrepresentation of women. Even though in school exams, girls perform as well as boys in math and science, fewer women consider a professional career in these fields. Wang Dan, a China analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, shares her views on what it is like to be a female economist in a field that’s so traditionally dominated by men.

Wang Dan is an analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit. She’s been working in the economic field for more than six years. When asked why she chose economics as her major, Dan says she simply chose it before her college entrance exam because she was good at math. And since then, she has developed a fine enthusiasm for the so-called ‘dismal science’.

As China emerges on the world stage, the 21st century has certainly given Chinese college graduates more career opportunities, both domestic and international. Fu Lu is typical of those Chinese graduates. Before she entered the job market, Fu Lu was lucky enough to get an intern opportunity at the UNEP office in Bangkok. Although her jobs and where she’s worked changed over the past 16 years, her passion about environmental protection has always remained the same.

Fu Lu is the China office director of Clean Air Asia, an international NGO that works for better air quality and healthier, more livable cities in Asia. As a person living in Beijing and a professional working in the field of environmental protection, Fu Lu shares her observations and thinking about air quality issues in China.

In the past two decades, more than 26,000 HIV/AIDS impacted orphans have received an education thanks to the Chi Heng Foundation. Some have now graduated from university, and some have received vocational training, leading to jobs in bakeries and even in well-known five-star hotels. The foundation was founded in 1998 by banker-turned philanthropist Chung To.

The number 127 was a signpost in the career of the former investment banker turned NGO founder Chung To. He’s now the head of the Chi Heng Foundation, the NGO he established in Hong Kong in 1998 with a mere 100 Hong Kong dollars. His decision was driven more by instinct than logic: He had an impulse to help people whose lives were turned upside down by the raging AIDS epidemic. This instinct grew stronger and stronger until, in 2001, he left the world of finance and invested everything he had – money, time, and care – into running Chi Heng. The following year, Chi Heng would rescue its first group of AIDS orphans, 127 in all.

As the world looks towards China to make an even greater contribution, it is worthwhile asking why it has taken so long for China to be a part of the global family of volunteers, and what has stopped the spirit of Chinese hospitality and benevolence from growing into professional volunteerism. Do we as a people or a nation really lack the spirit of a good Samaritan, as many people both inside and outside China have claimed? And if that's true, how could Chinese civilization survived the test of time and maintained its vitality?

Wenzhang caught our attention because of his involvement in writing last year's State of the World's Volunteerism Report (SWVR), which for the first time included two cases from China based on field research. And in another first, the report was published in Chinese in China. This signifies the big strides China has made taking part in international volunteerism.

David Lai graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music, one of China’s top music schools. In his class, he is the only student who is totally blind. Back in 2015, David was one of the first batch of visually impaired students who sat China’s national college entrance exam, instead of sitting a specialized exam tailored for blind people.

When I was told that my next interviewee, David Lai, was a young blind pianist whose talent has won domestic and international acclaim, I was uncertain about how close I’d be able to get to him to dig into his life for a profile story. Despite having worked in radio for several decades, this was my first interview with a blind person, or more accurately, with a person with a physical disability.

As it stands today, only a few thousand tigers are left in the wild. Their habitat and the prey they rely on for their survival are disappearing and some species have already died out. Some people may argue that if we don’t take their lives they will take ours. People like Grace Gabriel are out there to remind people that beast such as tigers, lions, leopards, and cheetahs are ferocious only when they are hungry and threatened.

“Animals are not moving objects!” This is the strongest message I received from Grace Ge Gabriel, a through and through animal conservationist who has been leading the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) office in China since she founded it in 1997, fighting battles at the forefront of wildlife protection, something rather remote from my own life and career.

Joy Chen is well known in China for becoming the deputy mayor of Los Angeles at the age of 31 and her book ‘Do Not Marry before Age 30’. But one could hardly imagine although she was born and grew up in the United States, she didn’t speak any English when she entered kindergarten.

Joy Chen is well known in China for becoming the deputy mayor of Los Angeles at the age of 31 and for her 2012 book “Do Not Marry Before Age 30”. She learned the frog bubble story from her five-year-old daughter whose teacher taught mindfulness to their class at a very young age.

Early in 2005, David Ferguson found himself at a restaurant table sitting in front of a plate of cold pickled chickens' feet. He was in Beijing en route to his first visit to his wife's hometown, a city called Jilin in China's northeast. There was a time when China had been way off David's radar, but that time was already long gone when he first encountered his new in-laws.

Early in 2005, David Ferguson found himself at a restaurant table sitting in front of a plate of cold pickled chickens' feet. He was in Beijing en route to his first visit to his wife's hometown, a city called Jilin in China's northeast. There was a time when China had been way off David's radar, but that time was already long gone when he first encountered his new in-laws.

Zoon Ahmed, a Pakistani researcher and anchorwoman based in Beijing, has emerged into the limelight thanks to her active and high-profile role in media cooperation and academic exchanges between China and her home country.

Zoon Ahmed, a Pakistani researcher and anchorwoman based in Beijing, has emerged into the limelight thanks to her active and high-profile role in media cooperation and academic exchanges between China and her home country.

David Moser serves as the Associate Dean of the Yenching Academy at Peking University. The master's program in China Studies aims to bring together elite students from China and the rest of the world. David can speak fluent Chinese. He's a frequent speaker on radio and TV shows, often commenting on China and international affairs. But perhaps members of the younger generation don't know that this American scholar used to enjoy celebrity status in China as a cross-talk comedian and jazz musician.

David Moser serves as the Associate Dean of the Yenching Academy at Peking University. The master's program in China Studies aims to bring together elite students from China and the rest of the world. David can speak fluent Chinese. He's a frequent speaker on radio and TV shows, often commenting on China and international affairs. But perhaps members of the younger generation don't know that this American scholar used to enjoy celebrity status in China as a cross-talk comedian and jazz musician.

David Moser serves as the Associate Dean of the Yenching Academy at Peking University. The master's program in China Studies aims to bring together elite students from China and the rest of the world. David can speak fluent Chinese. He's a frequent speaker on radio and TV shows, often commenting on China and international affairs. But perhaps members of the younger generation don't know that this American scholar used to enjoy celebrity status in China as a cross-talk comedian and jazz musician.

Huang Youyi is an established professional translator. Before he retired, Huang was vice president of the China International Publishing Group, which is the largest foreign-language publishing organization in China. Despite having retired, he is still very busy in his role as the vice president of the Translators Association of China.

Huang Youyi is an established professional translator. Before he retired, Huang was vice president of the China International Publishing Group, which is the largest foreign-language publishing organization in China. Despite having retired, he is still very busy in his role as the vice president of the Translators Association of China.

Harvey Dzodin is often found sporting a broad smile and an outrageously loud jacket. He strides slowly, but thinks quickly. When I asked him how he came to settle down permanently in Beijing, he said with a sly smile that it was because he was still keen to pursue new and different things.

Harvey Dzodin is often found sporting a broad smile and an outrageously loud jacket. He strides slowly, but thinks quickly. When I asked him how he came to settle down permanently in Beijing, he said with a sly smile that it was because he was still keen to pursue new and different things.

Rachel Weiss came to China five years ago after graduating from university, and during her time here she's visited more than 30 spots around the country, from the massive modern cities of Beijing and Guangzhou to remote mountain villages in Guizhou and Hunan.

Rachel Weiss is a travel blogger from the United States who has been writing about her experience of living and working in China over the past five years.

Following her performance in the Hollywood blockbuster 'Crazy Rich Asians', Jasmine Chen's 'velvet' voice, and her unique fusion of musical styles that's reminiscent of Shanghai's 1930s jazz era, has captured the attention of audiences around the world. (*music courtesy of Jasmine Chen)

Jasmine Chen is a jazz singer and songwriter based in Shanghai. Listening to her songs, it's hard not to be impressed by her sultry and soulful voice. "That’s Shanghai" magazine once described her performances as "presenting the audience with a classical and exquisite beauty". (*music courtesy of Jasmine Chen)

Raymond Zhou is known to the Chinese public as a film critic, but he prefers to define himself as an interpreter of cultural differences.

In a 2012 Los Angeles Times article, a reporter said that Raymond Zhou was the closest thing China had to a Roger Ebert, the Pulitzer Prize winning American film critic.

Raymond Zhou started out writing reviews of Hollywood films in the early 2000s, when he had a column on the hugely popular web platform NetEase. His casual and witty style soon won him a loyal following.

Shi Yan holds a doctorate in agriculture business and management from Renmin University of China. But she prefers to be called a ‘new farmer’ rather than an academic. Over the past 12 years, she has worked in organic farming in a Beijing suburb, growing vegetables without the use of pesticides, and distributing them to consumers in the city.

Shi Yan is a pioneer and promoter of China’s community-supported agriculture movement, or CSA for short. In 2009, she set up one of the first farms in the country where consumers could buy organic fruits and veggies directly from the producers.

Despite having almost no experience working in the theatre industry, Yang Jiamin gambled her own savings to set up her production company and introduce classic musicals to Chinese audiences. Looking back at the risky decision she made eight years ago, she said it was one of the craziest things she has done in her life.

Yang Jiamin describes herself as a “rational idealist”, something the musical producer and CEO of Seven Ages Production hopes all of her staff will become. When I sat down with her at her office near the iconic Poly Theater in Beijing, I found myself sitting opposite a practical dreamer.

Cui Rui has tried combining Chinese stories with Hollywood screen writing techniques in his films, making the most of what he learned from growing up in China and studying in the United States. This multicultural life journey has led him to pay more attention to themes like self-identity, culture, and belonging.

Cui Rui still remembers his first visit to a cinema. The 8-year-old was shocked by the rich combination of images, music, and sounds he experienced and the strong emotions they conveyed to the audience. This encounter planted the seed of a dream in filmmaking, which came to fruition through years of hard work.

"Quarantine pounds" has become a hot topic on social media, and as life slowly returns to normal, people are looking for ways to drop the weight they gained when they were stuck at home. Chris Cordner, who is a certified personal trainer, shares his personal experience doing workouts at home during quarantine. He also gives us some tips and strategies to help keep you and your loved ones healthy.

Chris Cordner traveled to China from the United States for the first time in 2011 as an exchange student from the University of Maine. He was so impressed by the booming economy and the job prospects he found in Beijing that he was determined to come back. Two years later, he was accepted into a graduate program at Tsinghua, one of China's most prestigious and influential universities. Although he was a student of international relations, Chris found a fulfilling career path in the fitness industry and landed a job as a coach at a gym after graduation. Over the past few years, he has gained popularity in Beijing as an advocate of fitness and healthy lifestyles.

Ling Hui is serving as the secretary-general of the YouChange China Social Entrepreneur Foundation. Over the past decade, she has been promoting social innovation and focusing on ways to improve poverty alleviation work in China’s rural areas.

Ling Hui has been involved in the not-for-profit sector for about 15 years. She started volunteering for an NGO in Beijing in 2005 while she was a graduate student at the University of International Business and Economics. One of the programs she signed up to provided training to leaders of the hemophilia association. Through this experience, she met face to face with hemophilia patients and heard their stories. This experience completely changed Hui's career goals, and she switched from aiming for a career in business to one centred on work with non-profits.

Among the 42,000 medical workers supporting Hubei Province, more than half of them are women. In the early days of the lockdown of the provincial capital Wuhan, all kinds of essential supplies were organized for medics, but traditional conservative views about women’s health meant that some essential were neglected. But soon a volunteer team called "Stand by Her" emerged. When Lei Di learned about the difficulties Wuhan’s female medics workers were facing, she joined the team of volunteers without hesitation so she could lend a hand.

When the city of Wuhan was locked down in an effort to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, thousands of volunteers stepped up to help get medical supplies to hospitals, to buy and deliver daily necessities to senior citizens, and to offer mental health support online to people struggling with the intense emotional strain of their situation. 27-year-old Lei Di was one of the city’s volunteers.

A journalist with five years of experience behind her, Huang Yue volunteered to go to the city of Wuhan in the earliest days of the COVID-19 outbreak. It was a time for many firsts in her career - it was her first time covering a major disaster, the first time she’d visited the intensive care unit of a hospital, and the first time she did three live broadcasts in one day.

After two weeks of isolation in a hotel, followed by a week of social distancing at home, Huang Yue had her first day back in the newsroom. It was the perfect time to sit and talk with her about the 82 days she had just spent in Wuhan, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak, as the memories were still fresh in her mind. In early February, she volunteered to travel to the city to cover the outbreak, mindful that she could be stuck there until the city was lifted out of its lockdown.

In early February, Chang Panpan joined the difficult and dangerous battle against the coronavirus in Wuhan. This junior doctor said that his two months on the front line against the virus has made him into a more mature and responsible man.

Chang Panpan is a young doctor at the Trauma Center of Peking University People’s Hospital in Beijing. He is one of the more than 42,000 medical personnel mobilized since January to help the people of Hubei Province to fight the COVID-19 outbreak.

This International Labor Day, we thank you!

Spring has arrived. Flowers are blooming, grass and plants are turning green. Mother Nature lives on her own rhythm of life. Life gets born and perished according to the set law of nature. The sun rises and sets. This year these all seem to have nothing to do with me. I have lost contact with nature and the ability to enjoy its beauty.

In our salute to the battlers against the coronavirus, we're calling on everyone to reflect on the impact of their lifestyle choices.

William Yip has devoted himself to practising and promoting educational drama for more than 20 years. During our conservation, we discussed the importance of drama education, the skills that young people can get through taking art classes and how it can only improve things for future generations.

For many people, the best career or job is the one that uses the skills you enjoy. William Yip is one of the few lucky people who has managed to turn their favorite hobby into their profession.