This episode of the podcast is the second in a cooperative project with the Chengdu-based co-working space and bar Berlin Haus, in the “Haus Guests” series where we speak with local personalities. In this first episode I speak with Richard, a professor of urbanization and expat who first came to Chengdu in 1973. With ancestry dating back to Sichuan by virtue of his grandmother who was a Quaker missionary born in Sichuan in 1919, Richard has an incredibly long history with China and Sichuan. This podcast is an amazing account of his life and experiences in the Sichuan capital.
Topics Discussed

* Richard’s first introduction to Chengdu in 1973 and comparison to Shanghai
* Early 20th century Qing dynasty China from the perspective of Quaker missionaries
* Comparison of the “Cultural Revolution” of the West and of China
* The critical role of China’s planned economy from 1949 – 1978
* What makes Chinese people and the Chinese civilization so adaptable
* The rapid urbanization of Chengdu, and of China
* The huge importance of the year 1976 to China

Download & Stream Links
Download Podcast Episode #35
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On this episode of the podcast I’m joined by cryptocurrency insider Martin Heinz Breuer
Topics Discussed

* Chengdu’s 10+ year social history of bitcoin & cryptocurrency
* Martin’s new position working with the EOS crypto project
* Bitcoin’s status in China after a turbulent two years
* Our take on crypto in China after bans and restrictions
* “Crypto Cocktails” weekly event in Chengdu

Links

* Chengdu Living Podcast #25: Moving Money Out of China & Bitcoin
* EOS Nation

Notes

*
One correction: Martin mentioned value lost through the Plustoken wallet scam at 700,000 BTC, but it’s more like 311,945 BTC, or roughly three billion USD.


Download & Stream Links
Download Podcast Episode #34
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On this episode of the podcast I’m joined by retired professional MMA fighter Vaughn “Blud” Anderson, who now works as a match maker for Legend FC, about China’s rising prospects in the global MMA world. When Brazilian UFC champion Jessica Andrade makes her first title defense on August 31st against Zhang Weili in Shenzhen, it will be the first opportunity that a Chinese MMA fighter has ever had at UFC gold. Vaughn, knowing Zhang personally and having trained with her, is confident of her victory.
Vaughn also just competed and won a gold medal at a Chengdu Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament this week in Chengdu, where Jerry and his CDBJJ athletes won many gold medals also.
Topics Discussed

*
Vaughn’s 15+ year history training and living in China

* The “Enbo Fight Club” which Vaughn coached at on the outskirts of Chengdu, covered by Vice and others
* MMA gyms and training across China
* UFC’s newly opened state of the art “Performance Institute” in Shanghai, only the second in the world, which Vaughn recently visited
* Life after retirement from professional MMA competition
* MMA’s “boom” period of investment from 2017-2018
* The imminent opening of Vaughn’s combat sport gym in Chongqing

Links

* China’s MMA Club for Poor and Orphaned Boys by Vice
* UFC Performance Institute Shanghai: take a look inside the world’s largest MMA training facility

Images of the UFC Shanghai Performance Institute



Download & Stream Links
Download Podcast Episode #33
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In this episode I’m joined by Andrew Derry: Canadian powerlifter, jiu jitsu student and coach, and all-around paragon of health. Hailing from Calgary, Andrew recently hosted the largest powerlifting event in Chengdu’s history, and in preparation for his trip to Los Angeles next month to compete internationally, he shares insight into his training, routine, and lifestyle in Chengdu. If you’re interested in strength training, martial arts, and healthy living in Chengdu, this is the episode to listen to.
Stream This Episode Below

Or download this episode here: Download Podcast Episode #32
Topics Discussed

* Development of the fitness lifestyle in Chengdu
* Strength training, weight lifting, and performance
* The best gyms in the city
* Diet, food in China, and what’s available at local markets
* Creating the Chengdu Powerlifting Federation
* Training and teaching Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
* The importance of sleep


Links

* Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Chengdu Podcast Episode
* Calgary Barbell on Youtube
* B-Active Gym
* Chengdu BJJ Academy

You can also search for the podcast in your favorite podcasting app. If you enjoy the podcast, please share and spread the word. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to the podcast to stay up to date with Chengdu Living content.

In this episode of the podcast I’m joined by Shin Liang, a Chengdunese software developer and startup founder who’s recently embarked on a new project: an augmented reality adaptation of a modular car racing game called Anki Overdrive. In our 36 minute conversation, we talk about Shin’s relationship with Chengdu’s technology sector, how it brought him to Silicon Valley and back, and why you might consider not outsourcing to China after all.
Topics Discussed

* How augmented and mixed reality work
* The future of AR as a potentially mainstream technology
* Winning Chengdu’s first Startup Weekend event and the subsequent car crash
* Moving to Silicon Valley and co-founding a company
* Building a short video app company in Silicon Valley
* Coming to terms with Kickstarter and crowdfunding
* Why Shin sought freelancers abroad, and not in China

Links

* Magic Drive on Kickstarter

Download & Stream Links
Download Podcast Episode #31
Or click below to listen to the podcast now through your browser.
You can also search for the podcast in your favorite podcasting app. If you enjoy the podcast, please share and spread the word. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to the podcast to stay up to date with Chengdu Living content.

This episode of the podcast is the first of a cooperative project with the Chengdu-based co-working space and restaurant Berlin Haus, in the “Haus Guests” series where we speak with local personalities. In this first episode I speak with Carl, a British expat who’s positioned himself as the center of Chengdu’s expat motorcycling scene after years of expeditions around Chengdu and across China.
Topics Discussed

*
How Carl got started motorcycling and ended up in Chengdu

* Buying a motorcycle and getting licensed in China
* Managing risk and danger as an expat motorcyclist
* Best places to ride around Chengdu and elsewhere in Sichuan
* Carl’s “Guzzler” WeChat motorcycle community

Links

* Acquiring a Chinese Motorcycle License on Chengdu Forum

Download & Stream Links
Note: this podcast has chapters which you can use to navigate to different topics in the conversation. These will appear only if you are listening to the podcast app which supports chapters. If you are using an iPhone, we suggest Overcast which is a free download.
Download Podcast Episode #30
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In this episode of the podcast I have a follow-up conversation with the other co-founder of local Chengdu-based Chinese educator Mandarin Blueprint, Luke Neale. Like the previous podcast recorded with Phil on the subject of Mastering Chinese, we dive into how Luke came to speak, read, and write such phenomenal Chinese. Because this is such a deep and complex topic, there is a wealth of new and useful information to gleam from this episode.
Bonus: Mandarin Blueprint has offered a 20% off coupon for Chengdu Living Podcast listeners, which you can activate by using this coupon code: “CLMB20OFF”
Topics Discussed

*
Defining “Elite” Chinese

*
Luke’s first missteps learning Chinese

*
Daily practice tips to keep improving

*
Expats speaking Mandarin on Chinese TV shows

*
Preparing for and passing HSK 6

*
Pleco, Memrise, Popup Chinese, and other resources

*
Gabriel Wyner’s book: “Fluent Forever”

*
Common pitfalls to avoid in learning Chinese

*
What “plateauing” is, and how to prevent it


Links

* Mandarin Blueprint’s (Free) Pronunciation Mastery Guide
* Mandarin Blueprint official website
* Mandarin Blueprint on Facebook
* Mandarin Blueprint Youtube Channel
* “Fluent Forever” by Gabriel Wyner
* Memrise online flashcards (check out Luke on Memrise!)

Download & Stream Links
Note: this podcast has chapters which you can use to navigate to different topics in the conversation. These will appear only if you are listening to the podcast app which supports chapters. If you are using an iPhone, we suggest Overcast which is a free download.
Download Podcast Episode #29
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You can also search for the podcast in your favorite podcasting app. If you enjoy the podcast, please share and spread the word. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to the podcast to stay up to date with Chengdu Living content.

In this episode of the podcast I talk with Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners Jerry and Andrew about the BJJ scene in Chengdu and across China. Originating in Japan, jiu-jitsu is a product of globalization, having traveled to Brazil where it underwent significant changes before arriving in Southern California in the United States and then seeing widespread adoption along with the popularity of the UFC.
Jerry, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, has been in Chengdu since 2011 and is co-manager of the Chengdu-based school and team called CDBJJ. Andrew, from Calgary, is a purple belt under Jerry who has competed around the world, in China, Taiwan, Canada, and the US.
A recent prompted us to record this podcast: a BJJ tournament hosted in Chengdu wherein foreigners were abruptly banned from competing or observing. We discuss that and other subjects surrounding the sport in this episode.
Topics Discussed

* Introduction to Brazilian jiu-jitsu
* How the CDBJJ organization was founded
* Chengdu & China’s roots in Brazilian jiu-jitsu
* Fake black belts, gyms, and authenticity
* Recent controversy surrounding a Chengdu BJJ event banning foreign participants
* Why Chinese newcomers and athletes seem to love the sport
* How you can get into BJJ in Chengdu

Links

* CDBJJ’s Official Website
* CDBJJ on Facebook
* Reddit post: Foreigners barred from competing in BJJ tournament in Chengdu

Download & Stream Links
Download Podcast #28
Or click below to listen to the podcast now through your browser.
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If you enjoy the podcast, please share it! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to the podcast to stay up to date with Chengdu Living content.

On this episode of the podcast I’m joined by Doug, who just emerged from nearly one month in a Chinese jail due to a visa law violation. As is the case with many China expats who’ve been in this situation, Doug believed himself to be acting in accordance with China’s regulations, until the PSB begun investigating details surrounding his Chinese study in Chengdu. Misled by the Chinese language school providing his visa, Doug regrettably walked right into trouble. Doug tells his story and offers tips for staying out of trouble and preparing for the worst.
Topics Discussed

* The Chinese language school which provided Doug’s visa
* Interrogation by local PSB
* Chinese jail culture
* Befriending cellmates
* Illness in jail and the role of the U.S. Consulate
* Doug’s feelings on China

Download & Stream Links
Download Podcast #27
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You can also search for the podcast in your favorite podcasting app (ours is Overcast, which we highly recommend for iPhone users).
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In this episode of the podcast I have a conversation with Phil, one half of the Chengdu-based Chinese language program called Mandarin Blueprint. Our conversation covers many areas of language acquisition, in both formal and informal settings, and includes a ton of useful tips for Chinese learners in particular. Phil speaks tremendous Chinese and has, with his business partner Luke, created a comprehensive program for guiding students online and in Chengdu toward mastery in Chinese.
Topics Discussed

* How Phil was the first recipient of Chengdu’s entrepreneurship visa
* The shortcomings of studying Chinese in a Chinese university
* Rapidly acquiring elite-level Chinese to pass HSK 6
* The Mandarin Blueprint ideology which Phil promotes
* The “Heisig Method”, memory palaces, and more language acquisition tricks
* Tools & resources for advancing your learning
* Phil’s daily routine for improving his Chinese

Download & Stream Links
Note: this podcast has chapters which you can use to navigate to different topics in the conversation. These will appear only if you are listening to the podcast app which supports chapters. If you are using an iPhone, we suggest Overcast which is a free download.
Download Podcast #26
Or click below to listen to the podcast now through your browser.
You can also search for the podcast in your favorite podcasting app (ours is Overcast, which we highly recommend for iPhone users).
If you enjoy the podcast, please share it! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to the podcast to stay up to date with Chengdu Living content.
Mandarin Blueprint’s Hanzi Movie Method
For a limited time, Mandarin Blueprint is offering a deep discount on their “Hanzi Movie Method” program. Scan the QR code in the image below to learn more or sign up for the two week course at the limited-time 50% discount rate.

In this episode of the podcast I sit down with Americans Johnny (of Johnny 5 Donuts, a previous podcast guest) and Mac to talk about moving money out of China and more specifically, bitcoin in China. Over the last 30 days, and in the weeks since this podcast was recorded, the value of bitcoin has skyrocketed. Whether you’re interested in moving money out of China with or without bitcoin, hopefully this podcast will be helpful in your financial planning.
Topics Discussed

* How to move money out of China, legally
* China’s history with bitcoin and the current status
* The fate of China’s bitcoin exchanges
* Volatility in bitcoin
* How to create and manage a bitcoin wallet and keys
* How and why China manages and controls its currency, the RMB
* What the future of cryptocurrency in China might hold

Download & Stream Links
Note: this podcast has chapters which you can use to navigate to different topics in the conversation. These will appear only if you are listening to the podcast app which supports chapters. If you are using an iPhone, we suggest Overcast which is a free download.
Download Podcast #25
Or click below to listen to the podcast now through your browser.
You can also search for the podcast in your favorite podcasting app (ours is Overcast, which we highly recommend for iPhone users).
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There’s nothing from Sichuan that has had quite the cultural impact that the food has. Known globally and represented virtually everywhere on the planet, Sichuan often dominates discussions about Chinese cuisine (and in our opinion, for good reason).
In this episode of the podcast, I have a discussion about Sichuan food with Jordan, founder of Chengdu Food Tours. For several years Jordan has been working full-time on promoting his tour company, guiding visitors from around the world through the ins and outs (and what have you’s) of Sichuan cuisine. Partnered with the daughter of a local hot pot mogul, Jordan is knowledgeable on Chengdu’s local food scene and enthusiastic about sharing it with others.
Topics Discussed

* How Jordan was introduced to Sichuan food and got started with Chengdu Food Tours
* Staples of Sichuan cuisine and lesser-known items to check out
* Sichuan food abroad, how it’s interpreted overseas and prepared differently
* Spiciness and Sichuan food: how hot is it, really?
* Anthony Bourdain in Chengdu and the effect his massively popular show has had
* Dissecting the panoply of Sichuan cuisine
* Baijiu Club

Download & Stream Links
Note: this podcast has chapters which you can use to navigate to different topics in the conversation. These will appear only if you are listening to the podcast app which supports chapters. If you are using an iPhone, we suggest Overcast which is a free download.
Download Podcast #24
Or click below to listen to the podcast now through your browser.
You can also search for the podcast in your favorite podcasting app (ours is Overcast, which we highly recommend for iPhone users).
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Links

* Chengdu Food Tours

In this episode of the podcast I sit down with one previous guest and one new one, both knowledgeable on what it takes to run and sustain an expat-facing business in Chengdu. In this episode we talk about what it takes to run and sustain a business in Chengdu as a foreigner, why some local bars and restaurants flourish and others flounder, and what exactly happened to Johnny 5 Donuts.
Guests
Johnny: in just over two years, Johnny opened the eponymous Johnny 5 Donuts shop in Tongzilin and established himself as a staple in the city’s expat food scene.
Chris: since dedicating himself to resurrecting Chengdu dive bar mainstay Dave’s Oasis a year ago, the bar has recently enjoyed its most prosperous month since Chris took leadership. Dave’s Oasis has been open for 16 years.
Links

* 2017 Interview with Chris about Dave’s Oasis
* 2015 Podcast with Johnny about Johnny 5 Donuts

Download & Stream Links
Note: this podcast has chapters which you can use to navigate to different topics in the conversation. These will appear only if you are listening to the podcast app which supports chapters. If you are using an iPhone, we suggest Overcast which is a free download.
Download Podcast #23
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You can also search for the podcast in your favorite podcasting app (ours is Overcast, which we highly recommend for iPhone users).
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In this episode of the podcast I sit down for a conversation with Mike, who hails from Canada and is a recent graduate of New York University. After graduating, Mike immediately came to Chengdu to start a business: a co-working space called Walnut. Since opening last year, Walnut has expanded to several locations around the city and grown into a full-fledged lifestyle brand, organizing community events, brewing it’s own beer, and much more.
In our conversation we talk about what it took to get Walnut off the ground, the challenges and obstacles that Mike has faced and overcome, and much more. If you are running a business in China or thinking of starting one, this episode will have a lot of useful insight for you.
Note: unlike previous episodes, this podcast has chapters which you can use to navigate to different topics in the conversation. These will appear only if you are listening to the podcast app which supports chapters. If you are using an iPhone, we suggest Overcast which is a free download.
Download & Stream Links
Download Podcast #22
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You can also search for the podcast in your favorite podcasting app (ours is Overcast, which we highly recommend for iPhone users).
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Photos from Walnut



Check Out Walnut Online

* Walnut Official Website

In this episode of the podcast Charlie speaks with representatives including the director and dean of of the Academy for Digital Entertainment (ADE) of NHTV Breda University in the Netherlands about games in China. Through their program, they interact with China in their specialized game design program which offers a 4-year degree. Other guests in the podcast are Mr. Bojan Endrovski, Game Programming Lecturer at the school of International Game Architecture and Design, as well as Lothar Zhou, Visual Arts Lecturer at IGAD and Breda University Coordinator of International Affairs Chris van Dorsselaer.
In our conversation we talk about:

* Breda University & their game design program
* Thoughts on China’s gaming industry
* Mobile & console games in China
* Education and graduate programs in China
* Impressions and visiting Chengdu for the first time
* Creativity and innovation in Chengdu and China
* Hosting a virtual reality event in Chengdu at CGF event

Download & Stream Links
Download Podcast #21
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You can also search for the podcast in your favorite podcasting app (ours is Overcast, which we highly recommend for iPhone users).
If you enjoy the podcast, please share it! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to the podcast to stay up to date with Chengdu Living content.
Links & Info


* Breda University of Applied Sciences Official Website
* Chengdu Gaming Federation
* China Mobile Game Industry Insight from Newzoo

In this episode of the podcast Charlie sits down with Natooke Bicycle Shop gurus Larry and Jacob (for the first time since their last podcast two years ago) to talk about Chengdu’s shared bikes programs. Over the last six months in particular Chengdu has seen shared bicycles come to fill the streets and sidewalks of the city as companies compete in the traffic space.
In our conversation, we talk about:

* The 2014 inception of China’s shared bikes
* Introduction to the technology behind bike sharing
* Comparison of China versus overseas programs
* The potential effects of bike sharing on Natooke
* Bike sharing as an introducing to cycling for Chinese
* Design & engineering of shared bicycles
* Maintaining thousands of bikes in a large city
* Investment & economic viability of bike sharing
* Bike sharing as an inroad to the bicycle lifestyle

Download & Stream Links
Download Podcast #20
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You can also search for the podcast in your favorite podcasting app (ours is Overcast, which we highly recommend for iPhone users).
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Links & Info



* Natooke Chengdu website
* Mobike official website
* China Bike Sharing Report: March 2017 on China Channel
* Follow Natooke Chengdu on WeChat by searching for “CustomBicycles”

Note: aside from the embedded podcast below, there is the Chengdu Underground Vibes documentary which is hosted on Youtube. If you’re viewing Chengdu Living from China, you will want to have a VPN on.
In this episode of the Chengdu Living podcast, Charlie sat down with local documentary producers Harry and Deven to talk about their most recent project, titled Chengdu Underground Vibes. Filmed and edited in the summer of 2016, this documentary is their most recent and most talked about, after producing some earlier works on subjects like electric bikes and tea house culture in Chengdu. In our conversation, we talk about subjects like:

* How Deven and Harry met and got started working together
* What inspires them to capture and publish local stories
* Their experience speaking to dozens of local musicians, promoters and musicians to create this documentary
* Our thoughts on Chengdu’s underground music scene: where it’s come from and where it’s going
* International and local participants of the music scene, and how they interact
* The peaks and valleys of the local scene: Dojo, The Poly Center, Strawberry Music Festival and more
* Future projects, and more stories which are waiting to be told

Download & Stream Links
Download Episode #19
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You can also search for the podcast in your favorite podcasting app (ours is Overcast, which we highly recommend for iPhone users).
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Chengdu Underground Vibes on Youtube

In this episode of the Chengdu Living podcast, we sit down with veteran Chengdu expat Andy McAuley who has, along with several other foreigners, had a huge impact on the soccer scene in Chengdu. This podcast touches upon a variety of topics, including Chinese nationalism in sports, the Chengdu International Football League, sports education, memorable moments from the various soccer leagues that have existed in Chengdu, and hooliganism.
Below, you’ll find download and streaming links for the podcast, as well as a full, time-stamped list of topics discussed in the show. Click here if you want to find out more about soccer in Chengdu.
Download & Stream Links
Download Episode #18
Or click below to listen to the podcast now through your browser.
You can also search for the podcast in your favorite podcasting app (ours is Overcast, which we highly recommend for iPhone users).
If you enjoy the podcast, please share it! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to the podcast to stay up to date with Chengdu Living content.
Topics Discussed

* 00:00 Intro
* 01:50 Why Andy came to Chengdu
* 02:45 Playing football in Taiwan
* 03:25 A note on terminology (pardon us, but we’ll be calling it both soccer and football)
* 04:30 The Wanderers and expat soccer in 2007
* 07:20 Soccer as a social scene
* 09:00 The Chengdu City League
* 10:20 Relations between foreigners and the City League administration
* 15:15 Nationalism and soccer
* 17:30 The trials and tribulations of organizing a sports league in Chengdu
* 20:15 Conflicts with the Jinniu soccer team
* 25:10 The Babi fight
* 29:10 The beginning of the Chengdu International Football League (CIFL)
* 34:00 The social dynamic of CIFL
* 36:25 Eli and Andy strike a bet
* 40:50 The logistical challenges of running CIFL
* 42:20 How does CIFL find referees
* 48:20 Close competition and heightened emotions
* 49:40 Changes coming to CIFL
* 55:30 Eli’s dramatic match reports
* 57:10 High quality Chinese teams
* 59:45 Plans for expanding ADI
* 60:45 Xi Jinping’s drive to improve Chinese national soccer
* 62:40 Changes in parental and educational mindset
* 67:20 BBC teachers exchange program
* 70:00 The role foreigners’ play and have played in popularizing soccer in America and China

Songs Featured in this Podcast

* LinFeng – First Day of Spring
* Photay – Reconstruct (ft. Seafloor)
* Ian Ewing – Water
* Skeewiff – Match of the Day Remix

Got an idea of what we should record our next podcast about? Let us know in the comments and if you like what you heard, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and stay tuned for the next one!

Note: There are embedded Youtube videos below the show notes. If you do not have a VPN open, those videos will not be playable and the page may open more slowly than normal. 
There is no shortage of viral videos in our lives, but it feels like there was a particularly large volume of them this summer. It feels like a good time to talk about viral videos and internet phenomena vis-à-vis WeChat, since WeChat is now the way these videos and news events reach people in China and shapes how we interact with them in many ways. In this episode, we talk about a couple major events as well as some more light-hearted pop culture culture moments like the “duang” phenomenon, the Tianjin factory explosion, the Uniqlo sex video, the Sanlitun stabbing, and the death-scalator.
Download & Stream Links
Download Episode #17
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You can also search for the podcast in your favorite podcasting app (ours is Overcast, which we highly recommend for iPhone users).
If you enjoy the podcast, please share it! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to the podcast to stay up to date with Chengdu Living content.
Topics Discussed

* 01:00 Recent viral videos: Tianjin explosion, Uniqlo sex video, and Sanlitun stabbing
* 04:30 Viral video sharing on Chinese social media
* 07:15 Deep dive into Uniqlo sex video
* 11:00 The distinction between viral videos and memes, “the changing room” as a meme
* 17:30 The light-hearted nature of the Uniqlo sex video
* 22:00 How videos spread now on mobile
* 23:30 An electrical engineering and Christmas analogy
* 24:30 The duang phenomenon
* 28:20 ChinaSmack, Shanghaiist, and sensational China stories going viral abroad
* 30:30 Description of Tianjin explosion
* 34:00 Components of a viral video coming out of China
* 42:00 Graphic video sharing on WeChat
* 44:00 Is this graphic video sharing unique to WeChat, or our ability to share media freely?
* 50:15 The CNN video incident, reflection, and reflexive reactions to sensational videos
* 59:00 Donate blood

Multiple-angle video of the Tianjin explosion
Duang

Songs Featured in this Podcast

* Common Unity ft. Archie Pelago – Chaos in the CBD
* People Under the Stairs – The Break Down
* World Champion – Avocado Galaxy

Got an idea of what we should record our next podcast about? Let us know in the comments and if you like what you heard, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and stay tuned for the next one!

Wade Shepard grew up around ghost cities in Rust Belt, USA, so he’s reluctant to call China’s newly constructed, yet-to-be-populated urban developments “ghost cities”, but he does so for brevity’s sake. After years of traveling to and writing about China’s ghost cities on his website Vagabond Journey, he’s finally published a book on the subject. As a phenomenon with lots of hype but lacking in critical analysis, Shepard’s mission is to desensationalize and rationalize ghost cities’ existence in the context of China’s massive push for urbanization. His research has led him to see the purpose of urbanization in China, and even the basic function of cities and residences, in a different light.
When Shepard came to the Bookworm several months ago to talk about his new book, Ghost Cities of China (which is out now and available here) I got the chance to sit down with him and hear stories about biking into new cities, sleeping in tents in the middle of massive metropoles, and being part of a new generation of China writers.
Read our discussion below, which was edited for length and clarity.
NOTE: This is part 1 of a two-part interview. Part 2 will come out next week.  Listen to a clip of the interview here.
CL: What angle are you coming at the ghost cities story from, and how does it differ from other ghost cities coverage?
The international media has established this narrative that these cities are being built to boost GDP, right, that there’s nobody there, there are a lot of empty apartments. And I was kind of disappointed, I thought that when the Chinese media started looking into this that we’d get something more added to the dialogue.
I guess where other coverage differs from what I’m doing is that I spent about two and a half years actually in these places actually talking to the people who were building them, the people who were moving into them, people who were buying property. I guess when you’re a journalist you have two approaches right: you can choose to sensationalize this story, and a story about cities with no people in them, that’s inherently sensational. Or you can choose to rationalize something, to really go in and break this story down and try to find out what’s really happening. And I tried to do the latter.

What was your first exposure to the existence of ghost cities, and how did your understanding of them evolve from there?
The first time I ended up in a ghost city – or I should say a new urban development that had yet to be populated in China – was actually about five years before I really started this project. It was in 2006, I was a student in Zheda and I was working on a project about Chinese hermits, or the “modern hermit tradition.” I went out to Tiantai in Zhejiang Province which is in this area – it’s where Han Shan, the famous Tang Dynasty poet had his hermitage – and I went out there and visited Han Shan’s hermitage and I looked for modern hermits, people living in the mountains and whatever. And it was an interesting trip.
What was really of significance about it was when I arrived in Tiantai I made a wrong turn out of the bus station: I could have went right and into the old city where there’s people, but I went left. Oftentimes they build these new bus and train stations out in the new areas – like if you look at a map of China’s high speed rail system, where the stations are often directly correspond to where a new city or a big new development is going to be. There is very much a master plan and there’s this push to fulfill the master plan that sometimes comes off as slapdash to observers.
Anyways, I walk into this completely new area with shops and apartments, but there was nobody living there. I mean it was completely empty.