“I can make my brush travel thousands of miles, or within spitting distance. It’s all in my brushstrokes.” Says 86-year-old Fan Zeng, a contemporary master of traditional Chinese ink and wash painting whose works have received critical acclaim globally. Combining Chinese free-hand ink spattering style with western realistic painting techniques, Fan Zeng weaves aesthetic harmony with his brushstrokes.]]>

​This year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France. Over the past six decades, people from the two countries have developed profound friendship and conducted fruitful cultural exchanges. One of the examples is Xu Rong, who has been promoting a traditional Chinese martial art called Tai Chi in France for nearly 20 years. But what really is Tai Chi? And how has this Chinese woman been promoting it among people who previously knew nothing about it? Join this edition of Footprints to find out.

A group of students from University of Virginia, the United States, visited China on a tour of youth exchanges and sports diplomacy in January 2024. Playing ping-pong (table tennis) games with their Chinese counterparts, visiting the Great Wall, and watching Peking Opera, the students are seen as re-enacting the historic 1971 Ping-Pong Diplomacy between China and the United States. Follow Footprints’ reporter Yushan and hear what these U.S. students have to say about their experiences in China.

Face changing is an important feature of Sichuan Opera, one of China's oldest regional operas. It is the art of changing vividly colored masks on an opera performer’s face within a split of a second, multiple times. If it’s magical to see how they do it in lightning speed, it becomes unimaginable to see puppets and their puppeteers do face changing at the same time on stage. But to retired Chengdu rod puppet performing artist Wei Zuochun, it’s just something she has always done.

Forty-nine year-old Zhang Jianna is part of the refuse collection crews working in the bustling embassy area of Beijing. The sanitation worker shot to fame as she turns mundane moments in her work into opportunities for kindness and inspiration. But what has she actually done to make her stand out? Join this edition of Footprints to find out.

​Cen Feng, a veteran railway engineer, is building the world’s longest-span cross-sea dual-use bridge, which will be able to carry both high-speed trains and road vehicles. Being head of the project’s building team, Cen shoulders huge responsibility as the project involves massive engineering complexities and challenges. Over the past 12 months, he and his fellow builders have made steady progress with the project thanks to their diligence, perseverance and creativity.

The Chime Bells of Marquis Yi, a set of well-tuned carillon of sixty-five bronze bells unearthed in today’s Hubei province, is considered one of the most astonishing archaeological discoveries in recent history. How does this ancient instrument sound like? And how does it feel to play the 2,400-year-old giant musical instrument? As one of very few who had played music on the famed chime bells, Tan Jun knows the answers to all these questions.

22-year-old Cen Huaxiu is a fourth-year Vietnamese undergraduate student. She is presently studying Chinese at Zhejiang University, but her interest extends beyond the language. Growing up immersed in traditional Chinese cartoons and stories, Cen Huaxiu is profoundly drawn to Chinese culture and intends to pursue her dream of establishing a career in China while fostering friendships that transcend borders.

​For nearly two decades, Chen Zhenghua has been riding on a wave of the boom of Chinese online literature, which includes fantasy novels, sci-fi, history, and other kinds of writings. His signature online novel Sword Snow Stride, which has been adapted into various cultural products, has brought him fame and fortune. Now having succeeded with domestic readers, Chen intends to bring his novels to the global market and he is confident international readers will also be drawn to the distinct contents of Chinese online literature.

“My mom and dad are guardians of the earth!” Says Hu Jiaojiao's 4-year-old daughter. Both Hu and her husband are Chinese explorers and glacier researchers who are invited to the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP28, to share their experiences about glacier conservation in China. As an environmentalist and a mother, Hu Jiaojiao calls for people to cultivate a love for Nature in the next generation.

67-years-old Nicolaas Kaaijk is the Dutch tulip expert behind the Dafeng Holland Flower Park---a place that's widely acclaimed as China’s “No.1 Tulip Flower Park”. Having focused on cultivating tulips in China for nearly 10 years, Nico's passion goes beyond merely growing and selling the flowers but has also inspired local flower farmers to join in and make a difference to the local environment.

​Elyn MacInnis from the United States is a passionate advocate of U.S-China friendship and historian rediscovering how people from the two countries interacted in the past. For almost 10 years, she has delved into the history of Kuliang, a mountainous summer retreat in southeast China’s Fujian Province where foreign residents and local Chinese developed close and profound bonds between the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. Thanks to her efforts, the stories of Kuliang have become known by an increasing number of people from both China and the United States, who are inspired to pass down and further enhance such historical friendship.

​Wu Zunyou was one of China’s most renowned public health experts. He passed away on October 27th, aged 60. He became a household name as he frequently appeared on mass media giving his expertise on containing the COVID-19 pandemic over the past three years. His dedication to public health while battling cancer himself has become widely recognized and has invoked sympathy and admiration from many Chinese.

At the age of 66, Zhu Feng, a senior photographer from Haining, Zhejiang province, recounts his in-depth conversation with his "soul mate": The Qiantang River. He's been following the river tides with his camera for almost 20 years, documenting the famous Qiantang River tidal bore as well as the lives of the locals. To Zhu Feng, acquainting the world to the tidal bore and his hometown Haining has been his lifelong goal.

​Nantong, a midsize city in the rich Yangtze River Delta, has the oldest population in China. With a third of its population aged sixty and above, the city northwest of Shanghai is a microcosm of China's aging challenge. CGTN Radio reporters visited the city and explored how Nantong is taking care of its senior citizens.

Professor Shen Hong of Zhejiang University delves deep into China's history through international perspectives. Venturing into prestigious global institutions, Shen unearthed vintage photographs that depict China from the late 1800s to the early 20th century, which offer a unique perspective into the intersections of China's history and its ties with the world. Dive into this edition of "Footprints" as we join Shen Hong's quest to retrieve China's memories from Western archives.

​Chen Jinzhang is a master of painting who blends traditional Chinese ink techniques with Western aesthetics. Since the 1950s, he has created a large number of landscape paintings capturing the beauties of China. In this edition of Footprints, let’s delve into his lifelong dedication to painting meticulous landscapes, where every stroke tells a tale of immersion, observation, and unwavering passion.

In this edition of Footprints, we learn the story of sign language interpreter Mao Donglai, a young woman from Hangzhou who tries her best to remove the communication barriers for the hearing impaired in the city. She and her team of volunteers also try innovative ways to help the disabled start up in business.

Rajni Aggarwal co-owns an Indian restaurant in Hangzhou, China. She has been living in Hangzhou for nearly 20 years and calls herself a "Xin Hangzhou Ren", or the "new Hangzhou local". Why did she choose Hangzhou and what motivated her to stay? Join our story today and hear about Rajni's deep bond with this city!

Here comes the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games! Joining the chat are four Zhejiang University students who are volunteers at the Games. Coming from various Asian countries and cultural backgrounds, what motivated them to become volunteers? What types of work are they tasked with? Join us on this heart-to-heart trip to see how Tong Yan, Cen Huaxiu, Zhang Shuiyun, and Chun Tian are contributing to make the 19th Asian Games a genuine celebration of unity via sports.

“Never too early, never too late” -- that’s the theme of the 30th World Alzheimer’s Day, observed worldwide this year on Thursday, September 21st, focusing on risk factors and risk reduction for the disease. Yet the disease still has no cure, and an estimated two thirds of the people globally have little awareness of the Alzheimer’s. However, with aging as a great risk factor for the development of the disease, it has become an increasing challenge for fast aging countries like China. CGTN Radio reporters visited a nursing home in southwest China earlier this year and provide an in-depth coverage of the lives of those living with Alzheimer’s and the challenges in the country’s fight against the disease.

​Thirty-year-old Joseph Olivier Mendo’o is an expat living in China from the African country of Cameroon, who has finished his master’s and doctor’s degree studies at one of China’s most prestigious universities. Over the past seven years, he has travelled across the country and mingled with ordinary Chinese on his self-imposed mission to learn about China and promote China-Africa exchanges and cooperation.

Featuring the China-Europe Railway Express, or the CR Express, the Ganzhou International Inland Port in China’s Jiangxi Province has grown into a comprehensive trading hub for exporters and importers around the world. Since April 2017, over 1,300 freight trains have been sent out from here to over 100 cities across Central Asia and Europe, unlocking enormous potential along the route. Join us in this episode as we explore how this once humble port has developed into a global gateway.

Eighty year-old Lin Zhanxi is a Chinese agro-scientist who has invented the technology of growing mushrooms with grass. Since the birth of this technology in 1986, it has played an important role in helping farmers increase their income and environmental conservation both in China and in many other developing countries. At present, this technology, called Juncao, has been adopted in more than 100 developing countries such as Papua New Guinea, Rwanda and the Central African Republic.

Togolese national Léon Kossivi, also known as Su Xin, has found both professional fulfillment and personal happiness through his involvement in the Belt and Road Initiative's infrastructure projects in Senegal in west Africa. Over his 12 years with the China Road and Bridge Corporation, he has contributed significantly to vital projects like the Dakar Bus Rapid Transit system, making a tangible difference in the lives of local communities.

Gabriella Bonino is known as the “Contemporary female Marco Polo”. As an Italian, she has traveled far and wide in China and writes about the country emphatically. She even followed Marco Polo’s footsteps and retraced the Silk Road.

Dancers Simon Abbe from Cameroon and Jiang Keyu from China are not only partners on stage but also a loving couple in life. Over the past decade, they've actively bridged the cultural gap between the two countries with their love and art. Through performances and community projects, they've nurtured ties that bind people across generations and geography. Join us in this episode of 'Connected' to explore how their artistic journey has fostered a living bond between China and Africa.

​Thirty-nine year-old Zhang Yiqing is an infrastructure project builder. Over the past 13 years, he has helped build a series of projects in the Bahamas, Egypt and many other countries. Always ready to take challenges and passionate about his work, Zhang has demonstrated to the world the superb building prowess and excellent teamwork of Chinese builders.

Sharing a border of more than 4,700 kilometers, China and Mongolia have been deepening cultural and economic connections continuously within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative. The bond between the two nations was strengthened in 2020 when exchanges of goods and medical supplies occurred, known as the "gifts of sheep and tea". As participants of this friendly gesture, Li Mengyang and Zhao Yun share from their personal perspectives of how this demonstrates a joint effort in fighting the pandemic while strengthening the vibrant trade between the two countries.

Dong Lili from China’s Jiangsu Province is an eye doctor with over twenty years of experience. She is also a member of the Chinese medical team dispatched to Zanzibar to provide health aid. This region has long been plagued by high rates of visual impairments. In this episode of ‘Connected’, we bring you the stories and challenges faced by a Chinese doctor in Africa, her motivation for joining the medical team, and her hopes and dreams for the future.

​Forty-five year-old Jin Zhaoyu is a Chinese restorer who has helped with the restoration of the splendid Ta Keo Temple, one of the major temples in the UNESCO world heritage site of Angkor in Cambodia. Serving as “doctors of the cultural relics,” Jin and his fellow Chinese restorers have revived the former glory of the Angkor monument after years of hard and smart work. But how exactly has he worked to restore the iconic ancient temple? And what has really driven him to travel thousands of miles in geography and hundreds of years in time to pursue and revive the glamour of the ancient Khmer Empire? Join us to find out.

"Footprints" presents "Connected," a gripping 10-episode series arriving on July 13th on all major podcast platforms. Join us on this wondrous journey that takes you into the lives of ordinary people whose destinies intertwine with the ancient Silk Road and the Belt and Road Initiative.

She is called “Princess of the Beavers”. She initiated the“Beaver’s Canteen”, “Guardians of the Beaver” and “Beaver’s Ark” programs to save the endangered Mengxin Beaver species. She is Chu Wenwen, a wildlife conservationist from China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Zheng Dongping is a renowned master of bronze casting. In this edition of Footprints, we'll hear about his journey of mastering and reviving the traditional lost wax casting method, and how he promotes bronze culture through his works.

Eris, or Ling Yuhan, is the founder of an international voluntourism organization. As a blend of volunteering and tourism, voluntourism includes public welfare activities or social services as a part of a travel experience, allowing travellers to help others while enjoying the trip themselves. For almost a decade, Eris Ling has been dedicated to inspiring more travelers to contribute to local societies and the environment on their trips.

​How to innovate in traditional Chinese ink-wash painting is something many artists have been trying to figure out for centuries. Born into a family of art, Chinese painter Wang Xiaoyan has been making her own exploration since the 1980s. In her drawings, she has seamlessly fused Chinese tradition with Japanese and Western painting techniques.

Located in northwest China, Mu Us used to be a lifeless land plagued sandstorms all year round. Through decades of tireless efforts by the local people to fight against desertification, it has become a thriving place for plants and animals. In this episode, we meet a 100-year-old man who has dedicated his life to tree planting, playing a pivotal role in this extraordinary journey of restoration.

Eighteen year old Shirin Abdullayeva is an Uzbek singer and actress. She has a sweet Chinese name -- Gu Tiantian. Today, she is still shuffling between Uzbekistan and China from time to time, pursuing her dreams of becoming a well-loved performing artist.

​Alai is a renowned contemporary writer in China. Many of his books, such as “Red Poppies” and “Empty Mountain,” have been translated into dozens of languages and published in many other countries. Although the background of each work is different, they all express his feelings towards his homeland and compel readers to think about the meaning of life.

In this edition of Footprints, we’ll meet a member of China’s new generation of farmers, and see how young people like him are transforming China’s farming and rural areas.

​Eighty-four year-old Peppino Cocozza is an Italian-born Swedish businessman. Ever since first visiting China in 1966, he has been a great fan and constant participant in the biannual Canton Fair. Through decades of association with the Fair and China, Cocozza has formed a deep love for and keen insight into the country.

53-year-old Tao Gongming was among the first group of Chinese engineers who were engaged in the research and design of the earliest domestically produced high-speed railway tracks. According to calculations from the World Bank, the construction cost of the Chinese high-speed rail network, at an average of $17 million to $21 million per km, is about two-thirds of the cost in other countries. Behind these data are the unwavering efforts from people like Tao Gongming, who have dedicated their careers to improving the quality and cost efficiency of high-speed rails.

​Fifty-five year-old Zhai Mo is one of the most renowned Chinese navigators, who made the world’s first non-stop circumnavigation of the Arctic Ocean with a sailboat between 2021 and 2022. His epic voyage was made possible due to the melting of icebergs in the high Arctic as a result of global warming. Seeing the effects of climate change with his own eyes, the Chinese seafarer has taken as his mission the challenge of reminding people living across the globe to preserve the environment and the planet through concerted efforts.

Wang Wenwang is a master craftsman in the art of woodworking with over 30 years of experience repairing antique furniture and restoring old wooden objects. He has also been dedicated to the collection and preservation of traditional Chinese woodcrafts. After years of efforts, he has amassed tens of thousands of wooden artifacts for display in the museum he established in 2017. Deep down, he believes that the root of the museum's soul is in its educational mission, and the passing down of traditional Chinese carpentry craftsmanship to future generations.

​Native Beijinger Xiao Zhanhang is a dough figurine master and a National Intangible Cultural Heritage Inheritor. How does he make a piece of dough an enduring work of art? In the process of inheriting and promoting the art of dough figurine making, what setbacks and challenges has he experienced? Find out more about Xiao Zhanhang’s art journey in this edition of Footprints.

​Sixty year-old Feng Ying is a world-renowned ballerina, choreographer and artistic director. For about five decades, she has overcome one difficulty after another to pursue her dream of dancing. Since 2009, she has served as director of the National Ballet of China, the country’s top ballet troupe. In this role, she has helped it to become a world renowned performing troupe.

Wen Xu is the first Chinese person to complete a solo trek to the South Pole. He has completed the "Three Poles Challenge," which involves reaching the North Pole, the South Pole, and the summit of Mount Qomolangma. As the co-founder of a non-governmental organization, Wen Xu dedicated his on-foot Antarctic journey to bringing greater public attention to the issue of climate change.

For nearly half a century, Yuan Xikun, one of China's most renowned contemporary artists, has devoted himself to promoting ecological and environmental protection through artistic creations. As the United Nations Environment Programme’s first “Patron for Arts and Environment”, Yuan Xikun calls on people all over the world to re-examine our relationship with our planet and work together to preserve the natural world.

​This March, fifty-nine year-old Zhang Yuqing has embarked on his second five-year term as a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference or CPPCC—China’s top political advisory body. Also a professor and university president, Zhang has worked in the educational sector and the underdeveloped Jiangxi Province in central China for decades. Since he first became a national political advisor in 2018, he has drawn on his rich experience and expertise to make a series of proposals about educational reform and rural development.

Every year at the two sessions, female legislators and political advisors actively take part in the discussion of national affairs along with their male counterparts. Many of them work at the grassroots level and come to the two sessions with their own motions and proposals based on years of grassroots work. Today, we’ll get to know one of them, Huang Liping, who’s a member of this year’s National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

​Thirty-eight-year-old Lu Man is a farmer who runs a turkey business in east China’s Jiangsu Province. Determined, resourceful and warm-hearted, this university-educated agri-businesswoman has beaten enormous odds in order to succeed in her adventures in rural China. Having served as a deputy to the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s top legislature, since 2018, Lu Man has drawn on her rich experience in agriculture and rural areas to make proposals for the government to develop the vast countryside.

Liu Cixin is one of China’s most prominent science fiction writers, who received the 2015 Hugo Award for Best Novel for his work The Three Body Problem, making him the first Asian writer to have won the award. As a writer, a sci-fi fan and a faithful family man, Liu Cixin has been carefully separating all three aspects of his life, while taking his readers on a journey through the vastness of space, the complexity of time, and the depth of human consciousness.

​Feng Dazhong, an artist from northeast China’s Liaoning Province, has been focusing on painting tigers for around six decades. The tigers outlined by his brush are leisurely, lively and sometimes lonely, becoming models for art students to imitate and widely known for being printed on calendars and stamps.

Fan Yang and Jia Guangjian are both renowned painters of traditional Chinese painting. For decades, Fan has portrayed major historical events and changes in the country, such as the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Meanwhile, Jia has used his outstanding painting skills to capture the natural beauty of China and turn it into fascinating flower-and-bird paintings.

Zheng Xiaoying is one of the most renowned Chinese conductors. At 93 years old, she still takes an active role in orchestra and music. For decades, she has devoted herself to enriching Chinese people's cultural life as well as telling the world Chinese stories through music.

Liu Lanfang, based in northwest China’s Gansu Province, is a craftswoman of Xiangbao or traditional Chinese sachets, which are handmade silk pouches stuffed with herbal medicines and embroidered with colorful patterns. With more than four decades’ experience in this craftsmanship, Liu says she has seen an increasing number of customers eager to buy this auspicious and decorative item in the run-up to and during this year’s Spring Festival. But why would this be? Join this edition of Footprints to find out.

Spring Festival, arguably the single most important festival in China. Millions of people take the opportunity to travel back to their hometowns, reuniting with their parents, children and old friends. In China, this travel boom is called the Spring Festival travel rush, also known as the largest annual human migration on earth. This homebound journey isn’t always easy for everyone. But luckily, there’re always kind strangers who’re willing to help.

Doctors Cao Hehuai and Ke Dongfeng are a couple working at a village clinic in central China’s Jiangxi Province. In recent weeks, they and their small clinic, which is only staffed by them, have become a lifeline for about 3,000 villagers amid a surge of COVID-19 cases. With their three decades of experience working as village doctors, the pair have been doing well in their battle against the pandemic, and thanks to them, the villagers have weathered an initial wave of infections well. While bracing for a new wave of cases during the upcoming Spring Festival holiday at the end of January, Dr. Cao says rural China “will soon see the light at the end of the tunnel” in the fight against COVID-19.

Twenty-three year-old Chen Han, wearing a pair of glasses, is an intern technician who has been working on an inter-city metro project in eastern China since July 2022. In late December, the young graduate was infected with the coronavirus amid a surge of COVID-19 cases in China. Wasting no time to improve himself and build infrastructure for the country’s future, he returned to work soon after his recovery just as many other fearless and resilient Chinese did.

The term “bespoke suits” usually evokes an image of sophistication and elegance overlying its renowned expensiveness. Here in China, 37-year-old business owner Cao Peng started his own custom-tailoring suit brand dedicated to bringing customized suits to the ordinary man in the street. After 7 years of unwavering efforts, he has weaved up a bespoke suit chain across the country. As China went through its Covid-19 prevention and control measures in the past three years, he led his company to achieve business growth and has remained positive for a bright post-pandemic future.

Chen Jialing and Wang Mingming both are renowned Chinese artists who have won wide acclaim through their ink and wash paintings. The former shot to fame for his ability to break through traditional norms to create master-pieces of scenic beauty while the latter has revived the elusive charm of classic Chinese literature with his ink and wash painting.

In this podcast, we meet the Guo family – presented by London-based vlogger Guo Toto, who describes himself as “a child of two heritages.” His father is a Chinese musician and his mother is British and a garden designer. As Toto says, his family has been on a self-imposed mission to bridge the gaps between Chinese and British cultures.

Fifty-five year-old Fang Chun is a ranger and bird protector working in a wetland reserve situated in the northwest suburb of Beijing. Over the past two decades, his faithful daily patrol and monitoring work for the birds, however tedious it may seem, has contributed to a significant improvement of the local ecology and biodiversity.

Michael Wood has been a TV historian for 40 years and is well-known for his knowledge and understanding of China’s fascinating heritage and culture. His Story of China films and documentary on Chinese poet Du Fu have charmed both Chinese and international audiences alike.

Frances Wood is a British linguist who has surrounded herself with ancient Chinese manuscripts and books for most of her life. In this podcast, she tells about what inspired her interest in Chinese culture and what it was like to restore the Diamond Sutra – an incredible scroll described as the world’s earliest-dated printed book.

Alex Hua Tian, the first ever Chinese eventing rider in Olympic history, says every competitive rider is in search of that elusive "perfect moment of harmony" with his or her horse. In addition to having his sights set on the Paris Olympics in 2024, he has other aspirations too. For example, he wants to ensure that more children in China have access to ponies and horses and he wants to further increase the profile of the equestrian industry.

"Footprints" will present "Bridge Builders," a four-episode series telling stories about people who have devoted themselves to promoting exchanges and understanding between China and Britain.

Footprints presents "The Incredibles" where you will meet ordinary but incredible individuals. For over two decades, Tang Yan has made efforts to strike a balance between innovative designs in silk figurine making and traditional cultural heritage preservation. The modified version of a silk figurine, also known as Tang Wawa was selected as one of the cultural gifts customized for the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Forty-eight year-old Fan Maorong is head of the Chinese medical team on an aid mission in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh. An expert practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine or TCM, Fan has won the trust of her Cambodian patients through her outstanding medical expertise and devotion in treating patients and training local doctors.

Photos bring back memories. However, many of the elderly in rural China have never had a portrait photo taken for their loved ones to remember them after passing away. 37-year-old Yang Xin is a journalist turned photographer who has taken the initiative to make up for such regrets. Since 2018, she and her team have taken nearly 3,000 portrait photos for village seniors for free.

Fire lookout, one of the loneliest jobs in the world. For the past 40 years, Zhao Fuzhou and his wife Chen Xiuling have spent six months every year living deep in the no-man’s land watching over one of the world’s largest man-made forests in northern China’s Saihanba. Tune in for this edition of Footprints and hear about how three generations of foresters have contributed to the creation of China’s “green miracle”.

Footprints presents "The Incredibles" where you will meet ordinary but incredible individuals. For over a decade, Wang Jun has been dedicated to writing and posting about carbon-related topics online. His articles have inspired many to turn their attention to carbon neutrality, which echoes the low-carbon developing goal China is aiming to achieve.

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.

​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.

​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.

​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.