Hi, I’m Shuang 爽.
I was born and raised in Beijing. After more than 20 years in China and over 15 years in France, both countries have become part of who I am today.
I left Beijing to continue my studies abroad. What was meant to be a new chapter in my life became a whole new journey: I studied abroad, built my career and eventually made a life for myself far from home.
Over the years, I learned to see China from an outside perspective, while carrying my Chinese perspective wherever I went.
Why Do I Chose a Different Path?
Living abroad, I gradually realised over the years that people from different countries simply don’t know each other well enough. We hear many things about China, just as people in China hear many things about other countries, but reality is often far more nuanced.
I’ve had the chance to live between different cultures for many years. So I asked myself: why not share what I truly know and what I have experienced from both sides?
And what better way to do that than through travel? Coming to China, seeing it with your own eyes, meeting people, tasting, trying, asking questions and experiencing everyday life.
That’s how I came to want to show you China from the inside, beyond what you may have heard about it.
The China I Want to Show You…
To me, discovering China isn’t just about visiting the Great Wall, the Forbidden City or Shanghai. It’s about understanding what lies behind them.
Why do Chinese people eat the way they do? Why are certain traditions still so present? How can a country with thousands of years of history change so quickly?
This is the China I want to show you:
its thousands of years of history, its writing system passed down through millennia,
its lunar calendar shaped by the seasons and nature,
the traditions of its 56 ethnic groups,
its eight great culinary traditions,
its ancestral craftsmanship, from porcelain to silk, and a philosophy that has endured through time…
Travelling with Me is…
Ask any question, even the ones you might not always dare to ask. I’m here to translate not only the words, but also the habits, gestures and ways of thinking.
I love taking you to the must-see places, of course, but also encouraging you to try something you might never have ordered on your own, explaining a scene from everyday life, or showing you a place known to locals.
My hope is that, at the end of the journey, you won’t just say, “I’ve seen China,” but “I understand China a little better.”