Encounters

The Chinese people are now on the road not taken, but they shall overcome the novel coronavirus. This is dedicated to all who love, treasure, and protect life. Please stay put, stay strong, and stay safe. And have a happy Valentine's Day!

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.