See here for a full list of transcripts

[Trailer]

Sean HARMON: I mean, now it's getting so built up, which is a bit of a shame.

OF: Yes. People like you keep talking about it, man.

SH: I know, I know. And now I'm sitting here saying it on podcast, which isn't helping my case I guess.

[Intro]

OF: Welcome to Mosaic of China, a podcast about people who are making their mark in China. I’m your host, Oscar Fuchs.

So let me say right from the start that this is not a regular episode. I’m taking some time off from releasing regular weekly episodes while I produce the next season of the podcast. If you’re a subscriber to the PREMIUM version of the show - on Patreon internationally, or on 爱发电 [Àifādiàn] in China - you will already know this, because I’ve just sent you the details of the first batch of people I’m recording interviews with next month. So if you want to get involved and help to pose questions for these future guests of Season 03, now is the perfect time to subscribe. It costs just the equivalent of US$2 per month, and that also gives you immediate access to all six hours of extra content from Season 02 as well. 

So what is today’s episode all about? Well, if you’ve listened to at least one regular episode from the season, you will know that as part of each interview I ask every guest the same 10 simple questions on their tastes and opinions of life in China. And it’s the answers to these 10 questions that form the content for not just today’s episode, but the following 9 special compilation episodes coming up too. These compilations are a great way to hear all 30 voices from Season 02 together, and to see how people from a variety of different backgrounds approach the same topic. And if you didn’t listen to someone’s original episode from earlier in the year, hopefully this will nudge you to go back and check out their full interview too. 

Here in China, we’re just coming up to the October ‘Golden Week’ holidays, so it’s perfect timing to talk about travel destinations in mainland China. As you’re listening, be sure to think about your own favourite travel destination in China, and find a photo to share with the Mosaic of China community on social media. Or even share a snap from wherever you might be on the road in China this week. Just search for ‘Mosaic of China’ on Instagram or Facebook, or you can join one of the listeners groups on WeChat. Search for my WeChat ID: mosaicofchina, and I’ll add you to the group myself. 

Having said all that, let’s now get on with it, and listen to the answers to the question: “What is your favourite destination within mainland China?

[Main]

[Voiceover]

OF: Jo McFarland, the product sourcing leader from Episode 18.

[Clip]

JM:  Well, see there's so many. However, one of the advantages of the job is that we do go to all parts of China. And there is a garden furniture factory that's in an area called 临海 [Línhǎi]. Have you ever been there?

OF: Never heard of it.

JM: Absolutely stunning. And it's like beautiful countryside, and in the middle of it is a furniture factory. 

OF: Oh god.

JM: But it's one of my favourite factories to go to, because it's in such a beautiful location.

OF: That is nice. And are there any places that you have to go to as a sourcer, where you're like “Oh god, do I have to go back there?”

JM: Do you know, I quite enjoy going to all those places, because they’ve all got different Chinese character. I mean, in Shanghai everything is so shiny and beautiful and fabulous. But some of the places we go, it's much more gritty. And I actually really like that, because it does remind you where you are. 

OF: Yeah.

JM: Keep it real, Oscar.

OF: You've got to keep it real.

[Voiceover]

OF: Michael Kinsey, the fire engineer from Episode 25.

[Clip]

MK: I think one of my favourite places is 浙江 [Zhèjiāng], as a province. Lots of places of natural beauty. It's so close to Shanghai as well. I've been whitewater rafting there, I've been hiking there, you can go to 杭州 [Hángzhōu], I've been to different islands just off the coast of 浙江 [Zhèjiāng]. It's absolutely beautiful. And you can do it all within a weekend, if you live in Shanghai. I think it's an amazing place.

[Voiceover]

OF: Noxolo Bhengu, the African community organiser from Episode 14.

[Clip]

NB: I'm so embarrassed. I haven't travelled a lot in China.

OF: Really?

NB: I've been to 安吉 [Ānjí]. Beautiful. The further you get away from the city, the better. 

OF: Yeah.

[Voiceover]

OF: Jamie Barys, the street food expert from Episode 02.

[Clip]

JB: Oh, there are so many good places, it’s hard to pick one. But my most favourite place that I've gone recently would be 宁夏 [Níngxià]. 

OF: Oh. 

JB: And I went out there with a couple of my girlfriends to wine country. And we had amazing food, amazing wine, just the most hospitable people. You know, it's funny because people are always like "Oh, Shanghainese people are so mean” and I'm like “They're not! They're lovely!” And then you go to 宁夏 [Níngxià], and you're like “Oh, maybe in comparison”, because they're just so welcoming and so friendly.

[Voiceover]

OF: Chang Chihyun, the humanities professor from Episode 03.

[Clip]

CC: I would say Shanghai. 

OF: OK.

CC: It’s very cosmopolitan. 

OF: Yeah. 

CC: There’s no real Shanghainese. 

OF: Right. 

CC: They were from 宁波 [Níngbō] and 苏州 [Sūzhōu]. So the Shanghainese are actually the combination of Ningbo-nese and Suzhou-nese.

OF: And then all the foreign influences on top.

CC: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And actually, Shanghainese collect a lot of Western languages like: “laokala”: it means an old gentleman who knows how to enjoy his petit bourgeois life. “Kala” means ‘white collar’. 

OF: Oh ‘collar’, how funny. 

CC: Yeah, and when we say “xiaolaji”, ‘xiao’ is ‘little’, ‘laji’ means ‘undisciplined woman’, it’s… But anyway, ‘laji’ is ‘laissez faire’.

OF: Oh, right. 

CC: Yeah.

OF: How funny.

CC: So it's from French and English.

OF: Mmm. 

CC: Yeah.

OF: And I guess because it is a city of immigrants, everyone here, from day one…

CC: Yeah, no-one can claim that “I am a real local Shanghainese”. No.

[Voiceover]

OF: Douglon Tse, the island businessman from Episode 15.

[Clip]

DT: So this is the tricky part. Because China keeps changing. 

OF: Yeah.

DT: So right now, my favourite place in China is 滴水 [Dīshuǐ] lake.

OF: Oh, right. That's somewhere in Shanghai, right? 

DT: Yeah, right in between 嵊泗 [Shèngsì] island and downtown Shanghai. And I rented an apartment there earlier this year, because I just, I really like 滴水 [Dīshuǐ] lake. It's like a mini young version of 深圳 [Shēnzhèn]. Just full of young people. In 滴水 [Dīshuǐ] lake, everyone's full of energy and just full of growth potential.

[Voiceover]

OF: Ajay Jain, the car designer from Episode 21.

[Clip]

AJ: Shanghai. I’ve travelled quite a bit in China, I’ve moved around all my life, I've lived in many different places. Shanghai gives me the impression that I'm living in a different city every day. Everything is just constantly dynamic. The city reinvents itself, as it were. Five years ago, I was in Pasadena, in the college that I went to, and these kids were drawing what they thought was the future of transportation. And then they asked me how I went to work. And I told him that I scan a QR code, and get on any bicycle, get on a metro, and get off the metro, and take my Segway, and then zip into my office. And that sounded more futuristic than some of the things that they were conceptualising. So…

OF: Yeah.

[Voiceover]

OF: Cassandra Chen, the heavy metal bar owner from Episode 16.

[Clip] 

CC: I like 三亚 [Sānyà], lying on the beach. I like 莫干山 [Mògànshān], which is close to nature in the mountains. 

OF: Yeah. You spent a lot of time in Beijing. What do you think about Beijing?

CC: It's big. People are more easy. 

OF: They're more straightforward, right?

CC: That’s right. 

OF: Right. 

CC: Yeah, like that, yeah.

OF: I think people in Shanghai, they have a reputation for being a bit more complicated, right? They don't always say what they mean.

CC: Yeah, that's right.

[Voiceover]

OF: Stéphane Wilmet, the head of consumer insights at L'Oreal from Episode 01.

[Clip]

SW: I've been lucky to have travelled to many places in China, but Beijing remains my favourite destination. So much culture, so many places. And also, of course, for me a lot of memories. It combines modernity and traditions. And a friend of mine told me, quite rightly so, that if Shanghai is the heart of China, Beijing is its head. It's the brain. It's a cold city, it’s a mysterious city, but it's a powerful city, it’s an energising city, at the scale of China. 

OF: Wow. 

[Voiceover]

OF: Jiyoung, the transgender teacher from Episode 30.

[Clip]

J: I don't have a particular favourite destination. But a destination that I have recent enthusiasm for is 海南 [Hǎinán] Province. Because after my surgery, that's the place where I wore my bikini in public for the first time. And it was such a huge affirming aspect, to be on the beaches, and to be seen in public. So, at this point in time, that has a huge place in my heart.

[Voiceover]

OF: Murray King, the public affairs leader from Episode 29.

[Clip]

MK: 平遥 [Píngyáo], 平遥古城 [Píngyáo Gǔchéng]. I think maybe others have said that too.

OF: No.

MK: It's incredible. I would recommend it to anybody. You know, it's a walled city - about six square kilometres - it rises up out of the agricultural plains of 山西 [Shānxī] Province. And it is a tremendous experience, it feels like you're stepping into a 明 [Míng] Dynasty movie. And within that walled city… It's a protected UNESCO World Heritage site, so there's really no development on the outside of the walled city. So it’s mostly just farmland. Of course, there are a few tourist things that have popped up. But within the walled city, there really are no cars. You can rent a bicycle, you can bike around the city on the wall. There are lots of traditional hotels, and restaurants, and great food, and great people. And it’s just a wonderful experience.

OF: The photos I saw from my friend's holiday there did show a mass of tourists, though. So that's the one downside, right?

MK: Well I was lucky enough to go 20 years ago.

OF: Ah.

[Voiceover]

OF: Jovana Zhang, the handicrafts designer from Episode 08.

[Clip]

JZ: I really love the Yellow Mountains, I really love that area there. That would be some place, 碧山 [Bìshān], that we visited so many times. Our friends, they have a beautiful hotel there in the middle of the fields, this was an old oil factory before, really really nice.

OF: Wow.

[Voiceover]

OF: Seth Harvey, the education coach from Episode 19.

[Clip]

OF: What is your favourite destination within China?

SH: 重庆 [Chóngqìng] is a pretty cool city too. When I was there for a business trip, it reminded me of the old kind of Shanghai that I had first encountered, that I'd fallen in love with. Now everything's more modernised, and it's changed, incrementally. But when you go to 重庆 [Chóngqìng] it's kind of like that “Aaahh.” It reminds you of the past and it brings up those memories, and people are super friendly, and I feel like I’m a representative, for not just Americans, but of all foreigners. And how I act, and interact with people, kind of sets the status quo in their mind of how all foreigners are.

OF: Nice. But that's just you being nice to 重庆 [Chóngqìng], you actually still prefer Shanghai.

SH: A million times over.

[Voiceover]

OF: Sean Harmon, the beer company CEO from Episode 09.

[Clip] 

SH: There are definitely more beautiful places in China than 莫干山 [Mògànshān], but to me it's kind of a sentimental place. I mean, we've had a lot of our annual company meetings there with our management team. We cook together, we run together through the mountains, we do walks, and we create the new strategy for the new year. I also go there with my friends, on weekends to get out of the city. To me, it has a very special place in my heart. I mean, now it's getting so built up, which is a bit of a shame.

OF: Yes, yes. People like you keep talking about it, man.

SH: I know, I know. And now I'm sitting here saying it on podcast, which isn't helping my case I guess.

[Voiceover]

OF: DJ BO, the DJ from Episode 23.

[Clip]

BO: My favourite destination in China - we've touched upon this - is 武汉 [Wǔhàn]. It was a city that I've been to more than any other. I love Inferno in Shanghai, Temple in Beijing. But 武汉 [Wǔhàn] Prison is the coolest bar there. And every good bar - every great bar, I should say - becomes the personality of the manager. Her name is Dong Dong, and she is an explosive character that can't really be characterised. Is she 20, is she 40? She wears these layers of clothing, she’s got these big dreadlocks, and she cackles when she laughs, and 武汉 [Wǔhàn] Prison bar is almost a manifestation of who she is.

[Voiceover]

OF: Björn Dahlman, the Swedish clown from Episode 17.

[Clip]

BD: My heart will always be on 武当 [Wǔdāng] mountain. But what I heard is that they did what they did in 少林 [Shàolín] mountain. They banned all the schools on the mountains, and they built a village below, which is… Ah.

[Voiceover]

OF: Cocosanti, the drag performer from Episode 05.

[Clip] 

C: My favourite place in China is any place with a very large window and a coffee shop. Now, the reason being is because, I like going on a train and going to a random city, finding a coffee shop, and just sitting by the window, doing my work, and people-watching. That's just what I enjoy doing. I love doing it in the U.S. as well. 

OF: I like that. 

C: Yeah.

OF: I mean, you're very urban person, right?

C: Oh my god. Yeah. I'm a city girl. 

OF: Yeah.

C: Yeah, I did Boy Scouts, **** that. That's all.

[Voiceover]

OF: Louise Roy, the childbirth and lactation specialist from Episode 06.

[Clip]

LR: I don't get to travel much - I think you probably hear that from a lot of people in healthcare, I don't travel a lot because babies, babies, babies, they’re just born all the time - but I really enjoyed visiting, years back, 峨眉山 [Éméishān] and 乐山 [Lèshān]. I liked 峨眉山 [Éméishān] particularly because it just… I come from the Blue Mountains in Australia…

OF: Nice.

LR: …And it felt like that laid-back mountain-y kind of thing.

OF: Yes.

LR: It was nice. 

OF: And both of them are in 四川 [Sìchuān] Province, are they?

LR: Yes.

OF: 峨眉 [Éméi] I don’t know, actually.

LR: 峨眉山 [Éméishān] is right next door to 乐山 [Lèshān], where the big Buddha is.

OF: Ah yes.

[Voiceover]

OF: Casey Hall, the fashion journalist from Episode 22.

[Clip]

CH: I do love 四川 [Sìchuān] Province. Many years ago, I went to 九寨沟 [Jiǔzhàigōu] National Park, which is just one of the most spectacular places I've ever seen. A few years after I went, there was a major earthquake, which damaged the park. And I would be very interested to go back and see what it looks like now, and see how different it is.

OF: Yeah. I've heard that because of the earthquake, the clear waters that you could see now are no longer clear, right? So I would imagine you'd be disappointed going back, I wonder.

CH: Yeah, maybe it's better not to. Maybe it's better to keep the nice memory in my mind. 

OF: It’ll bounce back hopefully, right? But I just think nature just needs time, right? 

CH: Yeah, indeed.

[Voiceover]

OF: Danma Jyid, the Tibetan social enterprise leader from Episode 10.

[Clip]

DJ: I really like Lhasa, central Tibet. 

OF: Yeah. 

DJ: When I went to Lhasa, I really liked the style, and it made me feel really connected to the culture. Yeah.

OF: Yeah, I would love to go to Lhasa.

[Voiceover]

OF: Wendy Saunders, the architect from Episode 12.

[Clip]

WS: Before I had kids, I used to travel a lot more, I think. For me, the most surprising, then, trips that we made was to go to 新疆 [Xīnjiāng], to Kashgar. Just because, the landscape is just amazing, so beautiful. But it's also such a different China. It's a totally different people. I still remember very clearly the feelings that I had, when I was there. It's just so surprising.

OF: Yeah.

WS: Very different.

[Voiceover]

OF: Salome Chen, the investor and developer from Episode 24.

[Clip]

SC: I will say the Silk Road. Yeah. I was born in 玉门 [Yùmén], close to 敦煌 [Dūnhuáng]. And not only because I was born there, I went there when I was 40 exactly, for my birthday. And also my dad was 80, it was more like a birthday gift for my dad. Beautiful, yeah. And also, there are so many different cultures there, there’s cultural communication. Buddhism, Hinduism; you can see the landscape change, the culture change, the language change; and even people, they look different. If you go deep into history, the world becomes much much bigger. 

OF: Yes. 

SC: Yeah.

[Voiceover]

OF: Michelle Qu, the improvisational comedian from Episode 20.

[Clip]

MQ: Last year I went to 泉州 [Quánzhōu] in 福建 [Fújiàn] Province.

OF: Right. 

MQ: Have you ever been there before?

OF: I know about it because of the.. They had the first Muslims in China.

MQ: Ah yeah, yeah. And when I was there, I found out that it was not only Muslim in that city, but also some other religions. A very old religion, how to say… people paid respect to fire.

OF: Ah, Zoroastrianism.

MQ: Yeah, yeah. 

OF: Oh wow, yeah. 

MQ: So each kind of culture, each kind of religion, they have their own space. Perfectly. With harmony, in that city. It’s very interesting. I really love this kind of atmosphere.

OF: I really want to go now. 

MQ: Yeah.

[Voiceover]

OF: Katherine Wong, the Peruvian healer from Episode 04.

[Clip]

KW: 云南 [Yúnnán]. It is beautiful. I feel the energies in that place are really pure and amazing.

[Voiceover]

OF: Vittorio Franzese, the lawyer from Episode 27.

[Clip]

VF: I was stunned by 云南 [Yúnnán]’s mountains. I found places where you can access only with a Jeep that is driven by a local guy, that can bring you up in the mountain. And that was pretty amazing. You arrive to a small village, and it's just a little mountain village as you’ve imagined in your dreams. I felt for the first time that travelling in China wasn't something too mainstream. I felt like you still can get to isolated places, up on a mountain.

[Voiceover]

OF: Zhao Huiling, the Africa travel vlogger from Episode 28.

[Clip]

ZH: 云南 [Yúnnán]. 

OF: Yeah. 

ZH: 泸沽湖 [Lúgū Hú], beautiful. This big lake. 

OF: Yes. 

ZH: We watched the sun rise over that, and then we went to this very famous National Park. It was very pristine.

[Voiceover]

OF: Alex Shoer, the clean energy entrepreneur from Episode 11.

[Clip]

AS: Actually, one of the most incredible places I've still been is this village of 喜洲 [Xǐzhōu], China, which is near 大理 [Dàlǐ] in 云南 [Yúnnán] Province, a very small village. And it's actually the place that I did my first project, at this place called the Linden Centre, which is an amazing historical resort. And it's just one of the places I fell in love with. And there's a lot of history, a lot of amazing food, they have this thing called the 喜洲粑粑 [Xǐzhōu bābā] which is this… It’s like a pizza, almost, but like in a 煎饼 [jiānbing] flavour. I don't know how to describe it, but it's amazing.

OF: Everyone loves 云南 [Yúnnán].

[Voiceover]

OF: Zhang Yuan, the performance art exhibitor from Episode 07.

[Clip]

ZY: 大理 [Dàlǐ]. It's like a utopia, or it's like a hippie place, where you could relax yourself and to not think too much. And people seem to think differently. And there are many artists working there. And I like the fact that the clouds are so close to you.

OF: Oh right, nice.

[Voiceover]

OF: Crystyl Mo, the fine dining expert from Episode 26.

[Clip] 

CM: 云南 [Yúnnán], and 香格里拉 [‘Shangri-La’], where it's the Switzerland of China. Absolutely stunning.

OF: Every other person, when answering that question, says 云南 [Yúnnán]. I think I should call this podcast ‘Mosaic of 云南 [Yúnnán]’. 

CM: I would say, if everyone says 云南 [Yúnnán], then that's the right answer. I mean, 云南 [Yúnnán] is so diverse. I had my honeymoon in 西双版纳 [Xīshuāngbǎnnà], and we were in the rain forest in an orchid forest. And then I've also been to the northern parts around 香格里拉 [‘Shangri-La’] up into the snow-capped mountains, you know, all in one province.

OF: Yes, and everything in between.

[Voiceover]

OF: Vladimir Djurovic, the brand naming expert from Episode 13.

[Clip] 

VD: It's actually Inner Mongolia. I have the occasion to go there for a run about every year - in a marathon in the grassland - in a small place called 西乌旗 [Xīwūqí]. You can easily get out of it, run out of it, and get into running in those green hills. It's beautiful. There's occasion to see double, triple rainbows and to reconnect with the elements. So I like the focus, I like the simplicity of it. I like to walk on the street, there are still some old cars because it's closer to Russia, some Волга [Volga] brand cars. So there's a bit of exoticism, but I'd like to run out of the city in the hills.

OF: Nice, yeah. I love the way French people say ‘focus’. I love that.

[Outro]

OF: And there you have it, all 30 guests from Season 02 in one episode. I’m releasing these compilation episodes every two weeks, so we’ll be back with the next one on October 12th, with the guests’ answers to the question ‘What is your favourite KTV karaoke song?” 

Mosaic of China is me, Oscar Fuchs, with artwork by Denny Newell. And as a gift for listening all the way until the end of today’s show, I’ll reward you with a special version of the outro music.

[Clips]

SW: Thank you very much.

JB: Thank you, it’s been a pleasure.

CC: My pleasure.

KW: Thank you so much.

C: Oh hey, thanks.

LR: Thank you very much.

ZY: Thank you.

JZ: Thank you.

SH: It’s been a pleasure.

DJ: Thank you.

AS: Thank you.

WS: Thank you.

VD: Thanks.

NB: Thank you.

DT: Thank you.

CC: Thank you.

BD: Hehe, thank you.

JM: Thank you very much.

SH: My pleasure, thanks.

MQ: Thank you.

AJ: Thanks a lot.

CH: Thank you.

BO: Thank you very much.

SC: Thank you.

MK: Thank you.

CM: Thank you.

VF: Thank you so much.

ZH: Thank you for having me.

MK: It was my pleasure.

J: Thank you so much.

See here for a full list of transcripts