If you’ve been using social media the last year, it’s a phrase you may have seen. Many Americans are finding themselves in a “very Chinese time in their lives” as they explore Chinese culture. I think a lot of this started during the TikTok ban in January 2025 when our government expressed concerns with China’s ByteDance controlling the fast growing social media platform. In protest to the ban, many users downloaded Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu, known as Rednote, and found themselves now fully engaged with Chinese content online.
A couple months later, some extremely popular influencers travelled to China and live-streamed their trips, showing millions of people their experience. The content went viral and other creators began to jump on the trend with their own China trips or Chinese inspired content. If the move to ban TikTok was to reduce Chinese influence, then it was a spectacular failure.
However, my interest in China wasn’t born out of internet trends. My interest in China started in 2016 during my undergrad when I took a wedding planning class with a group of Chinese international students. The final project was to put on a real wedding for a lucky couple with solicited donations from caterers, florists, jewelers, etc. It was a great way for the Chinese students to learn about western customs and since the majority of the class was group work, we were able to spend a lot of time talking with each other.
Most of them were shy, I suspect due to their confidence with English, but they were all friendly. One of them, English name Albert, took charge as the group leader and really engaged in conversation. He was inquisitive about western culture and always would ask me questions about why things were done. One thing that I thought was unusual was his apparent obsession with police. He would collect police patches and model police cars and post photos of them. During a major flood, he posted warnings on Instagram in the tone of a public official. The same thing during the start of COVID. I guess maybe he wanted to be an officer and started acting the part.
I made some good friendships that semester. One night they invited me to their dorms for a special meal. It was Albert’s birthday and he wanted everyone to come over for hotpot. It was my first time having hotpot and I’ll never forget how welcomed they made me feel. Albert had everything perfectly arranged and was the chef for his own party, he barely took time to eat for himself. It was clear that serving others was what made him happy.
Over the next few years we lost touch but I held on to a positive outlook of China and in 2025 I finally had the chance to visit China for myself. A trip that has totally changed my view of the world and put a lot of things into perspective.
China is one of the most dynamic places on earth with ancient historical sites next to bleeding edge technological marvels. One hour I was visiting a palace built 600 years ago and the next I was riding on the most advanced high speed rail network at 350 km/hr. They are an extremely advanced society, much more than Americans give credit for. Things everywhere are high tech. Electric cars, digital payments, and the architecture! The buildings are beautiful and complex structures that seemingly are built just to prove that they can. It’s an incredible sight.
China also has a feeling of stability and security that I’ve been lacking in the United States. Everywhere feels safe and there always someone to help if you need it. The leadership is calculated and the country moves as one.
My first trip was short and China is very big. My taste between Beijing and Shanghai left me craving much more. Whats the rest of the country like? How did they achieve the quality of life that I’m witnessing? I had more questions that needed to be answered.
After returning home, it was a difficult adjustment and hard to accept the reality of life in the United States. I needed to go back and see more of this country. I needed to understand how they’ve been so successful and bring some of those lessons back with me.
Thats what’s led me to this next chapter in life preparing to spend the next 2 years at a Chinese university. This blog is where I’ll record my experiences and share what I learn. My hope is to come back well equipped with the language and culture skills to bridge relationships between our two countries. I’m grateful to have a strong support system in my fiancé, family and friends as I set out on the journey. I’m thankful to have you here reading and will be back with more to share soon.