Footprints

Indian businessman Dev Raturi oversees a booming chain of restaurants in China. Having explored in the risky business world for more than a decade, Raturi attributes his success to China’s good business environment and the friendship and assistance he has received from the Chinese people. In this episode of Makin’ It in China, Raturi shares how he has turned from a waiter to a successful restaurant owner.

Vikash Kumar Singh is an Indian expatriate who currently teaches Hindi, Indian culture, history and literature at Beijing Foreign Studies University. With 17 years of residence in China, Vikash speaks fluent Chinese and is dedicated to fostering Sino-Indian cultural exchanges through teaching and literary translation. In this episode of the Makin' It in China series, we delve into Vikash's remarkable journey and insights.

​In a mountainous region in east China’s Anhui Province, Fang Guoqiang stands out among people who have been working on the frontline to preserve the environment and achieve sustainable development. For more than two decades, he has promoted the idea and practice of green farming among his fellow villagers in the headwater region of the Xin’an River, a major waterway in east China. This green farming has in turn contributed to the local ecological conservation while increasing the income of farmers.

People to people exchanges are often great contributors to a better understanding between different countries and cultures. In this podcast, we’re going to hear the stories of people who have become bridge builders between different cultures and peoples. We’re going to meet three Europeans: Robert van Gulik, Dutch diplomat, writer and sinologist who wanted to bring the wisdom, the knowledge and the beauty of Chinese culture to the West; Tineke van Gils, one of the best-known Dutch ceramic artists whose life has been bonded with porcelain and the place it came from: China; and Eckehard Scharfschwerdt，the German Doctor Who calls China’s Yunnan his second hometown.

On the east side of the southern part of Beijing’s central axis stands the Natural History Museum of China. Meng Qingjin, the museum's 61-year-old curator, has been with the institution for sixteen years and has personally assembled or recovered many of the exhibits. Join him in today's narrative and learn how generations of Chinese paleontologists and archaeologists converse with fossils from millions of years ago to bring natural history back to life!

Sandor Nagy, a former Hungarian football player, has been living in China for nearly two decades. Following his retirement, he embarked on a new chapter, founding a football club in the coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong Province in east China. His club has since become a beacon for many young football enthusiasts in the region. In this episode of Makin' It in China series, Sandor talks about his football career and his deep connection with his second home in China.

What’s China really like? What are the differences between the business culture in China and elsewhere in the world? Are there any areas that international businesses need to adapt to when entering the Chinese market? Hungarian businessman Steven Back has been running his business in China for 16 years. In this episode of Makin' It in China, he shares with us his experiences in doing business in China and the secret to business success in the country.

​Serbian national Faris Rebronja is an international trader of everyday items and is currently based in the County of Pingyao, Shanxi Province in north China. Having lived in China for five years, the young businessman has gained experience not only in the business world but more importantly has formed his own understanding of the Asian nation. In this episode of Makin’ It in China, Rebronja says he is optimistic about China’s future development and wants to grasp more opportunities the world’s second-largest economy will continue to offer him.

​This year as we celebrate the 60-year diplomatic relationship between China and France, we ponder the remarkable fruits of this enduring partnership. What successes have emerged from this collaboration? What is it like for a French firm to flourish and thrive on Chinese soil? In this episode of Makin' It in China, join reporter Liu Yushan in a discussion with Frédéric Barbier, business leader of a French corporation's China division, to hear his first-hand account of the strategies and insights that have propelled his company to success, as well as some survival tips for anyone looking to tap into the vast potential of the Chinese market.

"I am honored to be among the few who have lived to see their works being collected in the Louvre," says Song Dong when sharing pictures of his paintings on social media. The 57-year-old Chinese artist is known for his daring abstract oil paintings and diverse body of works that crosses cultural and national barriers. Song Dong, who has remained close contact with French architects and fashion designers over the years, devised a multi-dimensional art form known as Omni-directional Integrative, or ODI, with the goal of weaving the idea of art into every sphere of life that can be universally appreciated by all.