---

While experiences such as exploring remote Tibetan monasteries and festivals, searching for snow leopards in the high mountains of Qinghai, and avoiding leeches in the Hainan rainforest to photograph endangered birds stand out in my Chinese travels, Beijing has provided me with some absolutely unforgettable and amazing memories. From hiking the mountains and so many sections of the Great Wall to the little pleasures of searching the Indie Music store on Guluo Dajie for obscure Chinese black metal CDs and bargaining at Panjaiyuan to add to my collection of Chinese science education propaganda posters from the 1960s to 1980s, I have never felt bored here.

 

Naturally, one of the most important and memorable events of my life was my first date with my wife over a decade ago. It was the longest (and last) first date I ever had. We spent an afternoon walking around a park near us with conversation that briefly paused only while eating yogurt as we wandered the hutongs that night. Our local and global adventures haven’t stopped since.

While it is not a single memory or experience, my activities as “Dr. Tom” are among my most cherished during my time in Beijing. Under that guise, I developed a series of high quality science outreach activities centered on fossils, birds, and insects with our core programs of “Peking Man and the first Beijingers” at the UNESCO Zhoukoudian Peking Man site and museum and “Night with the Dinosaurs” with its “Dinosaur Expert” tour at the Paleozoology Museum of China. I combined my scientific expertise, abilities at crafting educational materials, and flair for engaging with kids of all ages (always talking about fossil poop and bee or owl vomit). None of this would have been possible without my wife’s energy, superior organizational skills, and extensive network (under her travel and education brand China Culture Plus).

Other impactful activities include our “Introduction to Birds” event at Yeyahu Preserve (with Terry Townsend of Beijing Birding) and insect programs in the Beijing mountains (with Dr. Jiang Lai of HN Nature). From Girl Scouts and kids battling leukemia to embassy personnel and the great diversity of families in Beijing, I have so many memories of sparking the curiosity of kids and their parents time after time. It was easy for me to be equally excited while sharing my knowledge of and passion for dinosaurs, insects, ducks, birds, the solar system, and much more in classes and at after school programs at the Ivy Academy, Daystar Academy, British School of Beijing (Sanlitun), Yew Chung International School, House of Knowledge International School, and Beanstalk International Bilingual School. As anyone who participated in one of my events knows, I offer unique experiences framed under acting like a scientist who asks good science questions (starting with how or why), who collects real scientific data, and who cares about the world around us. My sincere hope is that the children who have participated in my various activities continue to ask questions, explore science and nature, and eventually find fulfilling careers in STEM. I have met many amazing children in Beijing, and I must acknowledge their parents who stand out from the masses for taking the time to provide support to their children with such educational opportunities. There are “Dr. Tom” fans of all ages.

One special moment stands out among all of those outreach experiences. When we were running the first insect program last year in Miyun District, Dr. Jiang Lai, Ying, and I headed to the river near the village guesthouse where we were staying, after midnight when everyone else was asleep. We explored the riverbank by flashlight searching for insects. We all were giddy finding black tree crickets singing, juvenile damselflies swimming in the water, and amazingly, a large number of giant adult dobsonflies quivering their wings. The unparalleled feeling of being consumed by scientific curiosity and child-like excitement at each discovery was unforgettable. It is that same feeling and spark of lifelong curiosity that I have tried to impart during my science education activities and school visits.

Of course, I can’t forget the reason why I came to China, my job. My career as a scientist flourished during my time in Beijing, and I’ll always remember the weeks spent in a tent in the Xinjiang desert and working with schoolgirls from a village in Shanxi to help us sort fossils on the riverbank. My high profile publications and important discoveries like the oldest fossil of a daytime active (diurnal) owl from the edge of the Tibetan Plateau, the first fossil bird from the Tibetan Plateau, the earliest record of giant flying birds (from Antarctica), and early birds having dinosaur heads have impacted our broader understanding of the history of birds and led to international press coverage (BBC, New York Times, National Geographic, USA Today, CNN, etc.). I even was invited to participate in a meeting for foreign experts at the Great Hall of the People with Chinese leaders and give at talk at the prestigious Zhongguancun Forum. Importantly, through my teaching of our core graduate student course every year at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences and mentoring and working closely with many students during my time here, I helped to train a generation of multinational Asian scientists who are now professors, researchers, and children’s science book publishers. I hope that my mark on China has been a long lasting one.

Q: What do you have to say to newcomers to the city?

My main recommendation is to break out of the expat bubble. You won’t find authentic China in a display window in Sanlitun. Gain at least a fundamental grasp of the spoken and written language. Drop your preconceptions about China and experience what it is, not what you think it should be. Develop friendships (or more) with Chinese people. You will have a totally different experience during your time in China. Being married to a Chinese woman who works in the tourism industry provided me with so many unique opportunities from being the only foreigner in festival crowds rural Qinghai and Guizhuo to joining family for so many Spring Festival celebrations and weddings. There is so much history, culture, and nature in China. You will only scratch the surface, if at all, from within the expat bubble of Shunyi or Sanlitun. Take cooking classes, travel, hike, visit museums (there’s so many in Beijing), and don’t limit yourself to only what is advertised on Wechat. Make true connections with people. There are amazing people in Beijing making art, music, scientific discoveries, comedy, and so much more. For families, there are great, life impacting educational resources available for your kids outside of the schools. You have to seek them out. They won’t find you. Don’t skip places like the zoo (with its nearly 100 species of birds), the Paleozoology Museum of China, and the Peking Man site and museum (a UNESCO site). As “Dr. Tom,” I only showcased those existing places and exhibits during my science outreach activities. China created them, and they will be here long after I’m gone. In short, see and do as much as you can. You might discover a new passion or hobby, and even make lifelong friends. At worst, you’ll have more stories to tell some day.

---

---

Ross Parsonage made Beijing his home in 1999. After an accomplished 20-year career in the legal industry, he now manages Kaivalya, a well-being consultancy, and Sanlitun’s Taozi Tree Yoga with his wife Theresa. As a loving father of three young children and another bundle of joy on the way, Ross knows the importance of balancing work and family life.

So, you have quite the brood of kids (three of them!) at home and another in the oven! You must really enjoy being a dad! Were you always keen on parenthood?

It was not something I really considered.  I guess I started later than most, probably because it took me time to find ‘The One’, my wife, Theresa.  I couldn’t imagine raising children with anyone other than Theresa.  She is an amazing mother, and we complement each other so well. Fatherhood has been a gift and the most transformative thing in my life.  It’s made me a better person. Adding an extra one isn’t going to faze us. I just need to keep fit and healthy, so I have enough energy!

 

Antonia Sampson is an award-winning British jewelry designer based in Beijing. With a fusion of British sophistication and Chinese influences, her innovative designs have gained popularity for their elegance, craftsmanship, and ability to resonate with discerning customers from different backgrounds. Antonia lives with her husband Charlie in a traditional courtyard near the Forbidden City.

What’s On Your Mind?

I’m often thinking about how to find and discover the unusual and extraordinary materials I can use in jewelry design. My inspiration begins with stumbling on something in which I see inherent beauty in. It could be a tiny stone of luminous jade, insignificant by itself, but in a creative way, can be transformed into something spectacular. Or an irregular pearl oddly shaped – almost an ugly duckling – but with a beautiful gold chain and simple unfussy fastening becomes a stand out conversation starting piece of jewelry!

A new design can be on my mind for years! For the last five I’ve been looking for a certain kind of luminous crystal that I really wanted to design with and just in February found it in Bangkok! I was worried it was all in my head (having been in there for so long!) and no one would like it so I wore it to a sales event instead of putting it out to sell but that didn’t stop a determined buyer!

Born and raised in Sichuan, Xiaojie Qin has been in Beijing for over half of her life and calls the city home. She is a psychotherapist, certified in China and registered in Australia. Xiaojie is the founder and director of CandleX, a Beijing based mental health organization. She also co-founded Project A, and works with people who are recovering from abusive relationships. Besides mental health, Xiaojie is active in the yoga and mindfulness scene. Plus, she’s been a swing dancer for over a decade!

What’s On Your Mind?

What a great question! I try to be mindful of what is on my mind since it produces countless thoughts and ideas every minute. I try to exercise staying grounded in that space, and make conscious choices of which thoughts to act on.

This past year, I thought a lot about living in Beijing because a lot of my friends have moved away. I am aware of the impact it has on me, which makes me question whether I still want to live here in the long run. I also experimented with being a digital nomad in chunks of a few weeks each time. Interestingly, I come back to the same conclusion that Beijing is still home for me.

I have lived here for almost two decades now, and I am deeply rooted in the community, with my work in mental health, my weekly dancing, and my mindfulness practice groups. I love that the corner store owner in my neighborhood would always wave at me in the mornings and in the evenings. A few cafes that I work out of welcome me and my dog – Coconut – whom they love! Beijing has a lot to offer to people who are inspirational , talented, and passionate – whether it’s about their job or something they do on the side.

The past year, I attended quite a few home parties and had meaningful conversations which blossomed into friendships. I remember thinking to myself that it’s sad when friends leave, but Beijing has an open atmosphere to form new relationships.

At the end of the day, the movie of your life is edited by your chosen attention, and your attitude decides the genre of your own movie. I am a mental health profession, so I often take a temperature check of what’s on my mind, and I exercises mental focus, relaxation as I embrace the unfolding of my Beijing life.

An active member of the American business community in Beijing for the past 27 years, Su Cheng Harris-Simpson is a lifelong social entrepreneur who is currently the President of the Women Empowerment Council (WEC) which she founded in 2019. An empty nester with her only daughter Caitlin studying in New York, Su Cheng currently lives in Beijing with her husband Brad and their dog Milo.

What’s On Your Mind?

As a lifetime advocate for women and girls, I often (only half-jokingly) say that I live, breathe, sleep and dream women empowerment. I’m always thinking about how to bring more awareness to gender equality and maximize the impact of our work at the Women Empowerment Council to move the needle further by bridging the gaps that can enable girls and women everywhere to release their full potential. Most recently I was at an UN Women event, where they presented an astonishing data point about how we are 300 years away from achieving gender equality. At the same time, we also must not forget about the progress that individuals and organizations have made, which is what we are trying to achieve by organizing our bi-annual Women Empowerment Awards 2023 this coming September. This would allow us to bring the community of advocates for girls and women together to celebrate our work collectively and motivate further progress in this field.

Marie Pickart is a mum-of-three from Germany, who arrived in Beijing last summer. She is the head of the German Christmas Angels, a group of women and men who make hand-crafted decorations. She teaches yoga classes at the German embassy school (power, hatha and kids yoga) and founded Mama & Baby Fit in Beijing this year to provide prenatal and postnatal yoga and workout classes. She has also partnered up with Taozi Tree Yoga and Aisha Space to offer yoga classes in a beautiful and safe environment. The Mama & Baby Fit workouts are held outdoors in Chaoyang park. Currently she is also educating herself in the field of functional training and gives classes at ActivForever in Sanlitun.

What’s On Your Mind?

I always have a lot on my mind – I guess every mum can relate. A lot of happy thoughts though – planning out the kids birthday parties, scheduling weekend arrangements, preparing for the classes I teach this week, collecting ideas for my social media accounts, getting in shape for the Spartan Race in May – the list goes on and on.

I wake up every day and think – YEAH, LET´S ROCK.
I am incredibly happy and grateful for all the wonderful opportunities that opened and keep opening up for me here, the trust people grant me with, and the wonderful community in Beijing. I simply love being here, and I love doing what I do.

What’s Motivates You To Get Moving?

JUST DO IT – That’s the motto I always felt connected with. I have always felt the desire to move. As a child, I started very early to train on the weekends because I wanted to improve my sports performance. Running, jumping, strengthening exercises. I naturally moved on and signed up at the local gym at the age of 14 because I wanted to become stronger. That was a time when girls were usually only on the treadmills or at aerobic classes, but I started lifting weights with the guys. The gym became my happy place. I trained in gyms all over the world.

It was always like that: I decided to move to a new city. Apart from looking for an apartment and a way to commute, I would always look for the closest gym, their equipment and class schedule and then decide on the apartment

Yoga became a part of my life at the age of 18 because my doctor prescribed it to me. I was dealing with physical problems related to stress and was supposed to get surgery to fix it. He saw my distress and instead convinced me to do six months of alternative treatments. So we tried yoga and acupuncture and the rest is history – I never needed that surgery and yoga became a crucial part of my every day. For me, its the best holistic and sustainable approach to deal with stress and to stay in balance in every aspect of my life.

How do you stay sane in all the madness?

It’s exercise and being creative!

Exercising helps me to clear my head. Whether its running, doing yoga or working out in the gym – I need to move every day. I also love to go out with my friends and dance the night away. This is what I call ‘Mama/ Me Balance’ and its very important to me – spending time by myself and away from my family, with the things I always enjoyed. That way, I feel energised and refreshed enough to deal with all the daily challenges a family of five brings along. And don’t get me wrong – I love my family very, very much and I love to spend time with them. But by keeping my ‘Mama/ Me Balance’ I can appreciate and enjoy those precious moments even more and have enough energy for all of them.

Healthy habits like eating lots of plant-based proteins and veggies and never having any alcohol or nicotine help me stay sane as well.

By doing handicrafts and creative things I can switch off great as well. I get into a flow of creativity, of creation, of doing something with my hands, which is very relaxing – A kind of meditation. To hold the final result in my hands makes me proud and happy. I love to sew clothes for my kids, paint with watercolours and do decorations like advent wreaths and such. The latter I do with the Christmas Angels, a group of people gathering once a week year-round in our work shop at Siemens to create beautiful handmade items to be sold at the German Charity Christmas Bazaar.

 

What’s your favorite thing about Beijing?

I love the numerous and endless opportunities this city provides. Opportunities to connect with people, to enjoy delicious food, to go out, to try new things, to educate yourself, to experience the big city life, to get out of the city for a nature-inspired getaway, to climb the Great Wall – and so much more…

I love to experience the Hutongs and this very different lifestyle. I love Chaoyang park as a green oasis with countless great spots for outdoor yoga and workout sessions in front of my door step. I love 798 with its inspirations and creativity around every corner. I love Sanlitun with its busy night life and street food in walking distance. I love the illuminated Liangma River after dawn.

And I am very much looking forward to discovering many new favorite spots with time!

For my last birthday, when I was still an absolute newbie in the Jing, I asked people to show me their favorite spot in the city instead of giving me conventional presents. That way I was able to discover many new interesting spots. I highly recommend that approach

Another outstanding thing in Beijing is the extremely welcoming and helpful expat community. When we arrived last summer I reached out in several WeChat groups while we were in quarantine and the city was closing down due to Covid regulations – I got an overwhelming number of very helpful responses. I am still friends with many of them, which is super nice. That expat community is really something special!

 

KEEP READING: What Was Enoch Li’s Motivation For Starting Bearapy?

Originally from the US, Robyn Wexler has lived in Beijing since 1999. She is the co-founder of Yoga Yard, Beijing’s first dedicated boutique yoga center established in Beijing in 2002. Robyn is currently the Director of Space Academy, offering a platform of trainings and workshops in yoga and fitness through Space’s studios in Beijing, Shanghai and Taipei. Robyn has been a central figure in the development of yoga in China. She previously served on the Advisory Board of Yoga Journal magazine (China) and was the first foreign lululemon Ambassador in China. Robyn is also a trained birth doula and has offered childbirth support services to expecting families in Beijing since 2004, as well as developing curriculum and leading trainings in Pre-Natal Yoga and Fitness via public hospitals across China and at Yoga Yard in Beijing. Robyn is the mother of two boys, ages 12 and 15, and is fluent in Mandarin.

What’s On Your Mind?

Spring is here, and I love watching the hue of green and blossoms begin to emerge! After a long winter, I am so grateful and excited that we can come together in person again and enjoy the amazing gifts of our Beijing community! I’m thrilled that my kids are back on campus at school, in person with their friends, teachers, and thoroughly enjoying basketball in Daystar’s latest dome. And I am overjoyed that the doors of Beijing’s gyms and yoga studios are open again. Our classes at Space are full of smiles, great music, hard work and the joy of accomplishment. And Yoga Yard has just re-opened after a full expansion and remodeling, and it’s amazing to see the Yoga Yard community of teachers and students continuing to grow and flourish in its newly remodeled home. I’m feeling very energized by the possibilities and potential for the year ahead!

What’s Motivates You To Get Moving?

There’s a quote by Wayne Dyer that I’ve found helpful recently when I’m feeling stuck in a habitual emotional pattern, or when I’m trying to solve a problem, or address a specific challenge: “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

 

How do you stay sane in all the madness?

Movement, conscious breathing, meditation and podcasts. Yoga and walking have been mainstays in my routine since I was in college. The past few years, I’ve integrated more explicit strength training and cardio work throughout my week which has had a really positive impact on not only how I feel physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. Conscious breathing and meditation are like prescribed treats that I integrate in my day, ideally for a minimum of 8 minutes at a time. I say treats because I truly see and experience these extended moments in my day as a gift.

What is your favorite thing about Beijing?

The people; and the proximity to nature! This city has so many dynamic, engaged, creative, and proactive people who are incredibly generous of spirit, resilient, and fun. I treasure the friends, connections, and community I have made over the 20+ years that I’ve lived in Beijing. And to live in a major city that is so close to countryside that is wild and rugged, is such a gift! Some of my favorite memories of life in Beijing are from hikes with friends and family, both the quiet and calm that comes with being in nature, and the full belly laughs that inevitably seem to emerge as well.

KEEP READING: Meet a Couple Who Gave Each Other Their All