Footprints

Known as the world's capital of small commodities, Yiwu in eastern China attracts hundreds of thousands of sellers and buyers from home and abroad every day. In this episode of our Makin' it in China series, Harold Mori, a young Peruvian man, shares his story of how he started his trading business from scratch right here in Yiwu.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Brazil. In this edition of the Makin’ It in China series, we welcome Vitor Moura, a young Brazilian entrepreneur who has spent nearly a decade in China. As the founder of Lantau and the marketing director at Bracham, Vitor is committed to enhancing cross-border trade between these two nations. Join our conversation with Vitor as he shares his journey and insights.

For Egyptian Hany Sobhy Makary Guirguis Hanna, coming to China was totally accidental. But staying here for ten years has definitely been a deliberate choice for him. So, what’s it like when an Egyptian ventures to the Middle Kingdom? And what happens when he tries to follow in the footsteps of his ancestors and grow his trade business in China? Join Footprints for the business adventures of Hany Sobhy, in our latest episode of Makin’ it in China series.

In this episode of the Makin' It in China series, we delve into the journey of Ehsan Doostmohammadi, an Iranian researcher at Southwest University in Chongqing, southwest China. With a profound passion for traditional Chinese medicine and culture, Ehsan is dedicated to translating classic Chinese texts into Persian, opening the door for Iranian readers to engage with Chinese heritage. Join us as we explore Ehsan's experiences and insights as a Sinologist.

Joshua Dominick, affectionately known as "Lao Tan" in Chinese, has spent more than two decades in Beijing. Originally from the U.S., Josh speaks fluent Chinese and has become a familiar face in the local community. A decade ago, he founded Krankin' Thru China, an organization dedicated to empowering individuals with disabilities to engage in outdoor sports across the country. In this episode of the Makin' It in China series, we explore Josh's inspiring journey and uncover the meaningful impact he is making in a foreign land.

Taicang, a small city in Jiangsu Province, eastern China, is known for its deep connections with German enterprises. Home to over 500 German-invested companies, the city has grown to become a prime destination for German entrepreneurs. Among them, Erwin Gerber stands out with his thriving bakery. In this episode of the Makin' It in China series, we'll explore how Erwin has crafted his path to success in Taicang, blending German tradition with Chinese opportunity.

Meet Linda Painan, a female entrepreneur from Singapore, who has spent the last 28 years in Shanghai. As the chairperson of The Expatriate Center, a mother of three and a philanthropist, Linda's journey is a story of dedication and resilience. In this episode of our Makin' It in China series, we'll explore how Linda has fostered a sense of community for expatriates in Shanghai and uncover the personal and professional experiences that have kept her in this metropolis.

​For French entrepreneur Benoit Auger, his romance with a Chinese lady started a life-long engagement with her country. In 2006, he moved to live in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou and began his business adventure in the clothes and fashion industry. How did Auger meet his sweetheart? Why did he choose to live and “make it in China”? Join this edition of Footprints to find out.

​Dr. Song Jianping and Dr. Li Mingqiang are among the many Chinese doctors who have gone on foreign aid missions fighting malaria worldwide over the past several decades. Using treatment solutions centered on the TCM drug artemisinin, the two have helped contain the deadly disease in countries like Cambodia, Comoros, and São Tomé and Príncipe.

Chen Wanghui, Yu Jihong and Fang Qin are among the more than 2,000 delegates to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. The trio—a village Party chief, a chemist and an archeologist—have all made great achievements and played a leading role in their respective fields through hard work, devotion and a willingness to help others.

Ancient books are important cultural heritage that help people understand history and civilization. Yet these historical records are on the verge of extinction due to the passage of time. To rescue the old books, a guild of craftspeople has appeared — the book restorers. In this episode of Footprints, we will hear the story of a Chinese book restorer who fell in love with ancient book conservation at the first sight and has since then devoted her life to the rare skill.

​Shi Guangyin and Tang Zhenya are two veteran model members of the Communist Party of China. Shi has been devoting his life to combating desertification in northwest China for about four decades while Tang has earned the trust from local fishermen in eastern China for his superb mail service and altruistic efforts to help them.

Luc Bendza is a Gabonese martial artist, actor and director. He came to China in 1983 for the first time and has since dedicated his life to Kung Fu. Against the odds, this Gabonese martial artist-turned-action hero has not only achieved his "Kung Fu dream" in China but also actively participated in cultural exchanges between China and Africa.

Dunhuang is a small city in the northwestern Chinese province of Gansu. It has a history of more than 2000 years and has been crowned as “a place born in legends.” Neil Schmid is the first full-time foreign researcher in the Dunhuang Academy. In this episode of Footprints, we’ll find out why an American has decided to settle down in this remote Chinese city and what Dunhuang truly means to him. Let’s together explore its relevance to China and the rest of the world today from an expat scholar’s perspective.

Footprints presents "The Incredibles" where you will meet ordinary but incredible individuals. Though spending a pleasant evening in the theatre and watching a world-class West End or Broadway musical is more than common for western audiences, it was quite an unusual pastime for the Chinese audiences until more than a decade ago. That was when Yang Jiamin, our guest for this episode, founded her own musical production company.

​Twenty-eight year old Tenzin Yeshi is a fervent performer, researcher and promoter of Tibetan opera, listed as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage in 2009. Born into a family of artists in Lhasa, he compares the traditional art as the “butter” of his life, meaning it’s in his genes and it’s his mission to pursue a career in it.

Using smartphones to deal with nearly everything in daily life has become a no-brainer for most of us, but for those who were born and grew up in a pre-digital era, technology often moves too fast for them to keep up. Post 90’s Zhang Jiaxin believes closing the gap between the elderly and new technology can be an effective way to solve many of the problems with aging. In this episode of Footprints, we’ll bring you the story of this young man who endeavors to help China’s non-tech savvy older population to go digital.

A space photographer, an astronomer-turned-influencer, a science writer and a programmer… The list goes on as we struggle to find the most appropriate way to introduce Liu Boyang, who has awed the country for “stalking” and capturing every important moment of the developing Tiangong Space Station. In this episode of Footprints, you’ll hear the story of a stargazer, who tirelessly explores every possibility to show people why we need to appreciate the starry sky and learn about space and the universe.

Footprints presents "The Incredibles" where you will meet ordinary but incredible individuals. Based on traditional Chinese thinking, our body is received as a gift from parents, and should not be damaged even after death. But for organ donation coordinators like Liu Yuan, doing their job is to walk against this belief. In this episode, Liu Yuan discloses on how he and his team push forward China's development in the cause of organ donation and transplants.

​Forty-four-year-old Mao Mingrui is a Beijing-based professional solving the problems occurring in public spaces within a city—traffic jams, poorly-designed or badly-maintained roads, street noise, and so on. Since 2016, he, calling himself “a city doctor”, has been leading a team which aims to create a better city environment using modern technologies.

30-year-old Xiao Jia is China’s first blind make-up artist. ‘Seeing’ and creating beauty herself, she makes it possible to live a life without limits, and her story is a challenge to people's preconceptions of the visually impaired.

With the boom in e-commerce, online reading and audio books, some say the future of brick-and-mortar bookstores looks bleak. A young Chinese bookseller, however, believes otherwise. By tapping into a niche market, she has managed to grow her business in the past decade and attracted many loyal customers. In this episode of Footprints, we’ll take you to a hidden-gem specialty bookstore in Beijing to meet its manager, Hong Xia, who has succeeded in beating all the odds to keep a physical bookstore alive.

Footprints presents "The Incredibles" where you will meet ordinary but incredible individuals. Wang Xuetao is the boss of a Beijing-based interior decoration company. In this episode, she shares with us how she became a house renovation contractor in an industry mostly dominated by men.

​Thirty-nine year old Lin Yaping runs a family farm based in a suburb of the city of Suzhou in eastern China, growing strawberries, corn and other kinds of fruit and vegetables. Describing herself as a new generation of farmers, the university-educated woman has overcome one obstacle after another to shatter long-standing stereotypes about farming and farmers in China.

More than a decade ago, Chen Jianxing quit his job as a diplomat. With a childhood dream of becoming friends with lions and cheetahs, he has since then chosen to devote himself to wildlife protection and ecosystem conservation in Africa. As the first Tanzania National Parks China Representative, Chen Jianxing hopes to challenge the stereotype many people in the West hold against China so that the world can understand China better through its efforts to protect the ecological environment.

More than a decade ago Chen Jianxing quit his job as a diplomat. Since then, he has devoted himself to wildlife protection and ecosystem conservation in Africa. For his life journey as the “green hills of Africa”, and for more stories on average but incredible Chinese people, please search for “Footprints” on your favorite podcast platforms.

​Hilda Mandigo is a Zimbabwean media professional and TV show host in the Chinese capital Beijing. Her work entails bridging the gaps in familiarity between China and her country, along with others in Africa. Lighthearted and charismatic, Hilda’s story inspires optimism, humor and resilience to those looking to take on new challenges in life, no matter how daunting they may be.

​Dr. Johnny Ng Kit-chong is a self-made entrepreneur and a national political advisor based in China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Having integrated his career path with the development of the country in the past 20 years, he has been actively encouraging Hong Kong youths to closely combine their personal growth with the development of the motherland. He also expresses much hope in building Hong Kong as a “cultural passport” of China in the future.

Andrew Yao Cho-fai, originally from Hong Kong, is a successful businessman based on the Chinese mainland and an avid promoter of youth exchanges between the two sides. Twenty-five years on since the return of Hong Kong to China, Yao says the intense entrepreneurship innate to Hong Kong culture promises the city will continue to succeed in the years to come.

​Twenty-eight year old Yang Jinlong is a professional car painter from eastern China’s Zhejiang Province. In August 2015, the young man made a breakthrough for the country at the WorldSkills Competition in Brazil by winning China’s first gold medal in car painting. How did he achieve this and what has he been doing since becoming a world-class car painter? Join us to find out.

​Chen Jia, 43 years old, is a train technician whose responsibility is to ensure the safety of cross-border railway transportation between Russia and China. An awkward experience in the early stage of her career motivated her to challenge herself to become a sharp-eye train inspector and eventually the head of an all-female train inspecting team.

Guo Yunbo, previously a Peking University-educated scientific researcher, has been devoting himself to the cultivation of a new generation of outstanding technicians at a vocational school in central China’s Henan Province since 2016. As almost 12 million youngsters get ready to take Gaokao—the annual national college entrance examination this week, the educator calls upon them and their parents to rethink the purpose of education and consider vocational training as an alternative path.

​Li Wenjie, a Beijing-based researcher of comparative literature, discovered her interest in Denmark’s literature giant Hans Christian Andersen back in the 2010s. Since then, she has been dedicating herself to the research and promotion of children’s literature in China while tracing how Andersen’s works were introduced to the country.

​Bronze holds a special meaning in Chinese culture. The Bronze Age, starting around 1,700 BC, has had profound impact on the development of the Chinese civilization. Even today, artistic bronzeware still impresses many people, and one particular craftsman of bronze art named Zhu Bingren has been exploring innovative ways to bring new vitality to this ancient craft.

Footprints presents “The Wrong Train”, a radio drama which tells a story of how a young man, who coincidentally got stranded in Wuhan when the city was hit by a COVID outbreak in early 2020, ended up becoming a volunteer worker at a local hospital. The drama was composed based on a real story.

Qin Yi, a legendary actress known in nearly every household in China, passed away on May 9th, 2022 at the age of 100. As a performing artist adored by many, she shaped and brought many roles to life on stage and in films that ingrained a lasting impression on viewers. Her personal life, however, was never free of pain and suffering along with many twists and turns over the decades.

​Chen Jinyuan and Chi Zhaojiu both are veteran mold-making technicians working at the Guangxi Yuchai Machinery Group, a major manufacturing company in China. In the early 2000s, with an unyielding faith in their own ingenuity, they and their fellow workers made a key breakthrough in developing a cost-effective mold for diesel engines. In this episode of Footprints, let's follow these two master technicians to see what their work is like and how they overcame one challenge after another to help their company and the country to gain manufacturing prowess.

Twenty seven year-old Ding Xiaomei works in the urban construction sector in southwest China's Yunnan Province. On the eve of this year's National Youth Day on May 4th, we talked with Ding to find more about her role in her local community's urban development program and her thoughts about the responsibility and power of the youth.

​Reading can form and transform one's life. This is the message conveyed by two Chinese authors of children's literature Tong Xixi and Li Xixi on the eve of this year's World Book Day, which falls on April 23. They also shared with us how they created their best-selling books "Peng!Peng!Peng!" and "Wang Kaka" and recounted their endeavors to cultivate a habit of reading in a creative way among children across China.

He Jingtang is a renowned Chinese architect whose architectural designs include the iconic China Pavilion built for the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai. With his career spanning more than half a century, he has developed and maintained a masterful feature in all the buildings he has designed—a combination of traditional Chinese architectural culture with modernity.

Jiang Can is a visually impaired musician of the China Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe. The 29-year-old was honored on April 8th by the central government for his outstanding contributions to the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games and the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games. Committed to creating music for the welfare of people with disabilities, Jiang boasts a wide range of music productions, including "The Beautiful Flower of the Winter Olympics", a theme song played at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Paralympic Winter Games on March 4th, 2022.

Wang Qi, who lost his sight when he was 13 years old, has beat great odds to become a professional saxophone player in the China Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe in 2007. As one of the highlights of his life and career, he participated in the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games.

​Twenty-seven year old Chinese independent musician Xu Peiru is the singer of the song “You Can See the World” played at the closing ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics to pay tribute to all the volunteers working for the games. Besides being a musician, the millennial, like many of her peers, has been leading a “slash life”, which means she pursues vastly different careers, lifestyles and hobbies all at the same time.

Xu Yanni, a leading technician from a machinery company in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, has served as a deputy to the National People's Congress since 2018. Over the years, she has been calling for government support to promote the spirit of craftsmanship in China's manufacturing sector. One of the methods she has proposed is to establish a system for training young workers within companies.

​Chinese pharmacologist Tu Youyou, now 92 years old, won the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her discovery of artemisinin, a group of drugs used to combat malaria in the 1970s. Tu once said that artemisinin, having saved millions of lives across the globe, was a gift from China to the world.

​“They’re happening right in front of us: planes flying over, tanks driving by…,” says Niu Zi’An, a Chinese student studying piano in Kyiv, who shares with us his first-hand experience of life in the Ukrainian capital.

Over the past three decades, 50-year-old Lu Yun spent every single Spring Festival providing passenger services in a transportation hub in east China’s Anhui Province. She enjoyed her job so much that a few days after her retirement, she returned to the Hefei South Railway Station and started working as a volunteer to help out with the 2022 Spring Festival travel rush. ​

​Zhao Yingxin, a sport photojournalist, has captured many spectacular shots at the ongoing Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, including Gu Ailing’s historic gold in the women's freeski big air on February 8th. Zhao says she hopes her photographs can, in a way, represent the Beijing Winter Olympics and the new breakthroughs made by the athletes.

​The Dream Land, a winter sports center in Beijing, is the only ice sports complex in the city that houses two Olympic-sized ice rinks in an air-film stadium. Its investor Wang Da proposed its construction because his teenage son is an ice hockey fanatic. In this edition of Footprints, let’s visit the Dream Land and find out how an ambitious working father has been helping his son and many other young athletes realize their winter sports dreams.

​In 2018, stomatologists Yao Na and Zhao Shuangyun signed up for and became members of China’s first ski doctor team, which is a significant component of the medical and rescue system for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. After receiving intensive alpine skiing training for three snow seasons, the doctors can now ski to any corner of the tracks and provide quick responses for athletes requiring medical attention.

​Ye Tao, a 45-year-old Chinese businessman working in the south Pacific country of Tonga, has a first-hand experience of the large undersea eruption on January 15th, 2022 of the country’s Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha’apai Volcano, so powerful that it was recorded around the world.

​Eighty-four year old Fan Jinshi is one of China's most renowned archeologists and researchers of the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, a UNESCO world heritage site. Ever since the 1960s, she has devoted her wisdom and efforts to the preservation, research and promotion of the vast numbers of murals, artifacts and other cultural objects at the heritage site.

​Bruce Connolly is a Scottish photographer, freelance writer, radio host and occasionally tour guide living in Beijing. He has been a keen observer of China, travelling by train across the country since the 1980s. Through his lens, he shows the world the life of the Chinese people he has known: diverse, prosperous and most importantly, happy.

​Since Beijing won the bid for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in 2015, the popularity of ice hockey has skyrocketed in China. Xie Ming, a professional ice hockey coach and a retired goaltender of China's men's ice hockey team, is now training China’s next generation of ice hockey players. He says Chinese ice hockey teams may become the front runners in the world as winter sports are developing rapidly across the country.

​What was your 2021 like? Was it interesting? Fruitful? Or maybe full of challenges? Ken Chan, also known as Chan Woon Kau, works for a public transport company managing metro lines in Beijing while acting for stage performances in his spare time. In this episode of Footprints, he shares with us his unique experience in 2021, how he balances his full-time work with part time role as an actor and his other fascinating explorations in his life journey.

​Carina Letong Hong, an undergraduate student from the Chinese mainland learning math and physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been awarded the prestigious 2022 Rhodes Scholarship to pursue graduate studies at Oxford University. As a talented female mathematician, she is committed to promoting a more meaningful participation of women in the mathematic and scientific world while coming up with time and efforts to "creatively think of ways to help others".

​Tang Yunpeng, 48 years old, is a veteran maintenance technician of high-speed bullet trains. He offers timely solutions to various malfunctions a bullet train may be subjected to, and for this he is nicknamed “an emergency doctor” of China’s high-speed rail network.

​Liang Xijun, 42 years old, is a leading Chinese engineer in the field of subway construction. Based in the city of Xi’an, he has helped solve a series of technical and engineering problems in building its subways under the treacherous local geological conditions.

​Zhang Jiaxin, better known as Xiaojia, is a 27-year-old stand-up comedian from the city of Xiamen in Southeast China’s Fujian Province. Due to the lack of oxygen to his brain upon birth, he has neurological disorders that caused speech impediments. However, with constant and intensive speech training, Xiaojia can now share his thoughts and observations with his audience fluently.

​To many people in China and Laos, the China-Laos Railway, which was officially put into operation on December 3rd, 2021, opens up an exciting new route for business and travel. To 26-year-old technician Yuan Zhixiang, the international railway, which he participated in building, has brought him love and reoriented his life.

​The China-Laos Railway, stretching for more than 1,000 kilometers, connects the city of Kunming in Southwest China's Yunnan Province with the capital of Laos, Vientiane. To 28-year-old Zhou Jiawu, the railway project marks a milestone in his career as a railway engineer. Overcoming countless difficulties, he managed the construction of a mega railway bridge with the highest pier in the world.

At the age of 69, Xia Boyu became the first person in China to have climbed Mount Qomolangma and scaled the summit with amputated legs in 2018. Injured by frostbite on Qomolangma more than 40 years ago, Xia had never given up his dream of reaching the highest peak on this planet.

​Geoffrey Alan Rhodes is a Shanghai-based artist and filmmaker working to connect the real and virtual world through his virtual reality and augmented reality works. Originally from the United States, Rhodes became a tenured professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2020. Since then, the middle-aged artist has been exploring new possibilities in his career by tapping into the rich historical heritages of China.

​Nyima Wangdu, a blind educator living in China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, has guided dozens of blind students from illiteracy to enlightenment. At the age of thirty-three, he has traveled to 10 countries, hosted a talk show, finished a half-marathon and published a biography. Inspired by Helen Keller’s book titled “Three Days to See”, he named his biography “No Need to See Three Days”. He says blindness is not a defect but rather a distinct feature.

A teacher, a headhunter, and now a talk show host, Oscar Fuchs, an expat in his 40s living in Shanghai, always wants to try new things and learn more about the outside world. Since 1999, his curiosity and entrepreneurial spirit has connected the British national with countries and cultures in Asia, including Japan and Singapore. Now he is on a self-imposed mission to better present China, especially Shanghai, to the outside world.

​On October 16th, 2021, three Chinese astronauts—Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu entered China’s space station, beginning their six-month mission in-orbit. All three astronauts started from humble backgrounds. The dream of flying has been driving them forward along their journeys. Through dedication and hard work, they are leaving unique and marvelous “footprints” in space.

The Great Wall of China, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a symbol of the Chinese nation. Like many other World Heritage Sites, some sections of it faces the threat of disappearing due to manmade damage or natural erosion. For Dong Yaohui, who became the first man to walk the entire length of the Great Wall in 1985, studying and preserving the World Heritage Site has since become a lifelong endeavor.

​Norbu Dramdul, a native of Lhasa in his 40s, has studied in and travelled to Shanghai, Tianjin, Beijing, and Xi’an in search of the meaning of life and a dream job. Now an educator based in his hometown, he is devoting his life to the education of young Tibetans.

​In 1985, Dong Yaohui with two of his friends completed the world’s first expedition over the entire length of the Great Wall on foot. Since then, Dong has made tireless efforts to study and preserve this ancient creation. For all his endeavors, he has been affectionately nicknamed “Son of the Great Wall”.

​Actor and director Lan Tianye is a household name in China. Born in 1927, his illustrious career has seen him star in and direct scores of popular and influential stage dramas and TV series. Even in his twilight years, this award-winning performer continues to explore the world of performing arts. But what is his acting like and how has he earned his reputation? Join us to find out.

​Lin Cunzhen, a Beijing-based designer, is well-known for having created the Chinese character-inspired emblem for the 2022 Winter Olympics. With decades of experience in both teaching and artistic design, Lin is committed to enhancing cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world.

Zeng Zhengchao is in his 20s and was the first Chinese representative to ever win a gold medal in welding at the WorldSkills Competition, dubbed the “Olympics in vocational skills”. Li Wanjun, who is in his 50s, ensures safety on the world’s largest and ever-expanding high-speed railway network through his excellent welding skills.

On June 17th, 2021, three Chinese astronauts—Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming, and Tang Hongbo—entered the Tianhe core module of China’s space station. This landmark achievement was the first time that astronauts from China, also known as taikonauts, had entered their country’s own space station. In this edition of Footprints, we tell the stories of these three Chinese astronauts to discover how they realized their dreams of becoming space explorers.

​Xu Yuanchong, who died in June 2021 at the age of 100, was one of the most famous and acclaimed translators in China. Adored by many as a legend in the field of translation, he devoted his life to translating ancient Chinese classics into English and French, and vice versa. For him, translation was a lifelong passion and a craft which needed constant perfecting.

Li Li, a Beijing-based painter and conservationist, has overcome one difficulty after another in his more than two decades of conservation work in the wild. His efforts have contributed to the recovery of the number of black storks, a rare species of birds in the world.

Katalin Sogor, a Hungarian living in Shanghai, co-founded a “plogging” group called Trash Running in 2018. Since its inception, the idea and activities have drawn a growing number of followers as trash running is considered by many as positive for the body and the city environment.

​The world-renowned agricultural scientist Yuan Longping passed away in hospital in the central Chinese city of Changsha on May 22nd. He was 91. Known as the “Father of Hybrid Rice”, Yuan devoted his life to developing high-yield rice varieties that helped feed people around the globe. In this special edition of Footprints, we commemorate him by retracing his long, difficult, yet splendid journey both in his life and his research.

​Zou Bin is a young man in his 20s but already a master bricklayer. In 2015, he became the first Chinese bricklayer to win a medal in a major international competition of vocational skills. Three years later, at age 22, he became one of the youngest deputies elected to the 13th National People’s Congress, China’s top law-making body. But what was the young man’s road to excellence like? How has he beaten the odds in his rapid rise in his life and work? Join us to find out.

Zhang Guimei is a veteran educator working at a middle school for girls in Yunnan Province in the southwest of China. She rises up before dawn every day to prepare her middle school students for a day of Spartan-style living and studying. Some of Zhang’s students compared her with Zhou Bapi, a crooked landlord in a popular Chinese novel, who imitates the sound of a crowing cock at midnight in order to awaken his farm hands and squeeze out of them several extra hours of work before daybreak. But why? Join us to find out.

Birds of prey or raptors, such as eagles, are loved by many people for their flying abilities, vigorousness and ferocity. Being on top of the food chain, raptors play a crucial role in maintaining ecological balance. But they are facing grave threats caused by human activities. As a result, many raptors get hurt or run into trouble as they navigate the unfamiliar and expanding living spaces occupied by humans. In Beijing alone, the Beijing Raptor Rescue Center receives about 300 raptor patients each year. More than half of these rescued birds of prey have returned to the wild thanks to the efforts made by Zhou Lei and Deng Wenhong as well as other staff members of the Center. But what have the raptor saviors been doing to help the species? Join us to find out.

The Yangtze finless porpoise is an extremely endangered species under the highest level of state protection in China. To save the species from the threat of extinction, an increasing number of conservationists have been making diligent and sometimes risky efforts to protect its habitat. In this edition of Footprints, we follow the trail blazed by the burning passion of Hu Shibin, one such environmental activist, to see how these brave souls are working to protect the Yangtze, one of China's Mother Rivers, and especially its iconic finless porpoise.

​Education paves the way for children in China’s Tibet Autonomous Region to have more possibilities in their life. China Plus reporters spoke with two Tibetan teachers who not only achieved their own dreams through education, but also help many others with their dreams.

In recent years, China has made remarkable progress in a wide range of scientific fields – especially in 5G and quantum communications technologies. According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China has built 718-thouand 5G base stations, making up 70 percent of the world's total. But how and why has China achieved such feats? To find answers to these questions, we have spoken to two young Chinese researchers working at the forefront of scientific and technological innovation.

Professor Shing-Tung Yau is the first person of Chinese descent who has been awarded the Fields Medal, the top prize in mathematics. In 2009, he returned to China from the United States and founded the Yau Mathematical Sciences Center at Tsinghua University with an objective to make Tsinghua’s academic level in mathematics the best in the world. Now more than a decade has passed, has this world-famous mathematician achieved his objective? Join us to find out.

The Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year, is the most important festival for Chinese people. It is an occasion for family reunions, shopping, traditional customs, and joyful celebrations. This year, the festival falls on February 12th. In this edition of Footprints, let’s follow two Chinese families to see how they have celebrated the festival over the years.

In Episode I of our story about pianist Helen Yu, we followed her “Footprints” as a music educator in Beijing. In Episode II, we'll trace her living experience in Hong Kong and her romance with her husband that was like something out of a film. We’ll also see why the couple finally chose to settle down in the Chinese capital.

Born in Beijing and raised in Hong Kong, Helen Yu is an established pianist and music educator. For more than three decades, she has been giving both piano students and teachers a quality bilingual music education. But how exactly does she do it? Join us to find out.

Before becoming a successful lawyer and writer in Beijing, Albert Tsui worked in the Silicon Valley as a translator and reporter. But a desire to see more of the world and a romantic moment in his teenage years have ultimately led to his relocation to Beijing and his extensive travels around the globe.

Forty-three year old Albert Tsui has been working in Beijing as a lawyer for more than a decade. Born and raised in Hong Kong, he moved to the Chinese mainland to pursue a career and has made his name through his writings.

​Thirty-seven year old Chung Wai Kit is a Beijing-based producer of documentary films. Born and raised in Hong Kong, Chung traces his family background to a city about three thousand kilometers northeast of there. Besides Hong Kong and Beijing, Chung has lived and studied for a while in Taipei. He says the Chinese mainland offers more opportunities than Hong Kong or Taiwan for young people who want to set out in life by themselves.

Beijing is renowned for its alleys containing its traditional Hutongs, which feature the unique folk architecture and culture of the ancient city. For many people who come to live and work here in Beijing, the city is attractive not only for its historical traditions, but also for its cultural diversity. In today's program, we will bring you the life of Lau Hiu-fai, a Hongkonger who moved to Beijing 16 years ago.

With a childhood dream of travelling, Hong Kong actress Kathy Chau, or Chau Hoi-mei, made her name in the mid-1990s. Modest about her successes, the 53-year-old says women should and can be independent, tough and gentle, all at the same time.

​We’ve all been a little cooped up for the past few months – isolating at home or going out only for work or to buy necessities. Luckily, you can escape it all for a while by listening to our Footprints stories. In this episode, we bring you the story of a young entrepreneur who has travelled to 30 countries and found his passion in the field of education.

With his new company—the Beijing Dance LDTX, Willy Tsao has devoted much of his effort to promoting modern dance on the Chinese mainland since 2005. While continuing his lifelong passion on the dance floor, this world-renowned artist leads a quiet and thoughtful personal life in Beijing.

Modern or contemporary dance may be seen by many as an exotic and outlandish form of art. But for Willy Tsao, it’s a lifelong passion and truthful expression of his innermost feelings and thoughts. Calling himself a “catalyst” for modern dance in China, Tsao has been practicing, choreographing and teaching in this particular genre of art for more than 40 years.

Sixty-year-old Flora Cheong-Leen, a native of Hong Kong, was a dancing child prodigy, and has become a successful ballerina, choreographer and businesswoman. In the most recent years, she has spent much of her time cultivating dancing talent in Beijing.

The fitness industry has been one of the hardest-hit businesses in China during the Covid-19 pandemic. Luckily, with the virus largely under control across the country and perseverance of gym owners and lovers, the industry is now hitting the reset button. On this National Fitness Day, we bring you stories of the people who didn’t give up and helped create new fitness trends during the pandemic.

People always say a story starts when a person leaves home. This is especially true for Han Yan, a young man who left his home city Hong Kong after graduating from a local top college as he didn’t want an arranged life. He came to Beijing, a city he knew little before. To his surprise, he became enamored with the city and its people immediately and later found his dream career there.

For more than 40 years, Mei Jingtian, a voluntary ranger now in his 80s, has devoted himself to the preservation of the Great Wall in the northern mountainous suburbs of Beijing. His example has encouraged a new generation of career rangers, including his niece Liu Hongyan, to continue protecting this architectural wonder of the world.