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We all know what to expect in a theatre. We all know what to expect in an art gallery. But in which of these worlds does Performance Art belong?  One answer is the Ming Contemporary Art Museum (McaM) in Shanghai, and one person who can explain this world is the artist and curator, Zhang Yuan. Yuan's story also helps to paint a picture of the independent art scene in China, and the way in which performance art can convert audience members into active participants, and ultimately into a community of open-minded thinkers. Subscribe to the PREMIUM version, and/or follow the full transcript for this episode at https://mosaicofchina.com/season-02-episode-07-zhang-yuan. See the visuals and join the community on Instagram (https://instagram.com/mosaicofchina), Facebook (https://facebook.com/mosaicofchina), and WeChat (https://mosaicofchina.com/wechat). The episode also includes a catch-up interview with Nick YU from Season 01 Episode 13. (https://mosaicofchina.com/season-01-episode-13-nick-yu).

Pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding should be things that are universally understood around the world. But guess what... they're not. Societal conventions and traditions have created a disassociation between what is 'natural' and what is 'expected', leading to both cultural confusion and generational conflict. In today's fascinating and eye-opening episode, we discuss these issues with Louise Roy, Director of Patient Support at Ferguson Women's Health in Shanghai. As a prenatal educator, labour doula, and lactation counsellor, Louise is perfectly placed to explain these historical trends, and analyse them within the context of the Chinese healthcare system. Subscribe to the PREMIUM version, and/or follow the full transcript for this episode at https://mosaicofchina.com/season-02-episode-06-louise-roy. See the visuals and join the community on Instagram (https://instagram.com/mosaicofchina), Facebook (https://facebook.com/mosaicofchina), and WeChat (https://mosaicofchina.com/wechat). The episode also includes a catch-up interview with Astrid POGHOSYAN from Season 01 Episode 04. (https://mosaicofchina.com/season-01-episode-04-astrid-poghosyan).

The art of drag, with its emphasis on exaggerated costumes and makeup, has gained mainstream popularity around the world, particularly over the last decade. And China is no exception. While drag in the West can trace its roots from Elizabethan England up to the underground queer scene of New York, drag in East Asia draws its own lineage from the Beijing Opera.  As one of the more prominent members of the drag queen community in Shanghai, Cocosanti joins this week’s episode of Mosaic of China to discuss the meaning of drag, her own personal journey as an artist, and the way in which drag queens can teach us all that… it’s OK to be a little weird. Follow the full transcript for this episode at https://mosaicofchina.com/season-02-episode-05-cocosanti. Subscribe to the PREMIUM version of this episode at https://patreon.com/mosaicofchina. See the visuals and join the community on Instagram (https://instagram.com/mosaicofchina), Facebook (https://facebook.com/mosaicofchina), and WeChat (https://mosaicofchina.com/wechat). The episode also includes a catch-up interview with Sebastien DENES from Season 01 Episode 11. (https://mosaicofchina.com/season-01-episode-11-sebastien-denes).

Shanghai is one of those magical places where people can somehow become who they were always supposed to be. This is what happened to Katherine Wong, who decided one day to quit her corporate job, and start earning a living by sharing her knowledge of traditional Peruvian remedies with customers in China. Growing up in Peru with a Taiwanese father, a Bolivian mother, and a nanny from the Amazonian jungle, Katherine is perfectly placed to describe the links between Peru and China, as well as explore the similarities and differences in their beliefs and superstitions. The episode also includes a catch-up interview with Angie WU from Season 01 Episode 18. (https://mosaicofchina.com/season-01-episode-18-angie-wu).Follow the full transcript for this episode at https://mosaicofchina.com/season-02-episode-04-katherine-wong. Subscribe to the PREMIUM version of this episode at https://patreon.com/mosaicofchina.See the visuals and join the community on Instagram (https://instagram.com/mosaicofchina), Facebook (https://facebook.com/mosaicofchina), and WeChat (https://mosaicofchina.com/wechat).

There are some professors who can justifiably be accused of living in their own little academic bubbles, but Professor Chang Chihyun is not one of them.  In today's episode, Chihyun talks about his experiences in the world of unversity education in China, and shares a few morsels of his knowledge of history and sinology along the way.  The episode also includes a catch-up interview with Tom BARKER from Season 01 Episode 25. Follow the full transcript for this episode at https://mosaicofchina.com/season-02-episode-03-chang-chihyun. Subscribe to the PREMIUM version of this episode at https://patreon.com/mosaicofchina. See the visuals and join the community on Instagram (https://instagram.com/mosaicofchina), Facebook (https://facebook.com/mosaicofchina), and WeChat (https://mosaicofchina.com/wechat).

Food can be a window into a culture. But it can also be a barrier, especially when it comes to street food. Many can be intimidated to communicate with hawkers who often speak with strong dialects. And many can be turned off by hole-in-the-wall establishments, where there's no fancy décor, and definitely no English menu. Jamie Barys has made it her mission to remove these barriers, by offering tours that uncover some of the hidden delights of Chinese cuisine. In this episode, she reveals some of her favourite lesser-known dishes, explains the history and legends behind them, and also discusses how she has managed to pivot the focus of her business which, until 2020, had been reliant on tourists from outside of China. The episode also includes a catch-up interview with Lexis COMSTOCK from Season 01 Episode 20. Follow the full transcript for this episode at https://mosaicofchina.com/season-02-episode-02-jamie-barys. Subscribe to the PREMIUM version of this episode at https://patreon.com/mosaicofchina. See the visuals and join the community on Instagram (https://instagram.com/mosaicofchina), Facebook (https://facebook.com/mosaicofchina), and WeChat (https://mosaicofchina.com/wechat).

With thirty years at L'Oréal, and fifteen of those in leadership roles in mainland China, Stéphane has made a career of anticipating trends in China, and catering to the needs of the powerful and illusive 'Chinese consumer'. In this episode, we discuss the art and science of consumer insight analysis, through the prism of the beauty industry. We talk about the correlation between beauty and technology, and observe the new trends that are emerging in a post-COVID world. The episode also includes a catch-up interview with Sanford BROWNE from Season 01 Episode 29. Follow the full transcript for this episode at https://mosaicofchina.com/season-02-episode-01-stephane-wilmet. Subscribe to the PREMIUM version of this episode at https://patreon.com/mosaicofchina.  See the visuals and join the community on Instagram (https://instagram.com/mosaicofchina), Facebook (https://facebook.com/mosaicofchina), and WeChat (https://mosaicofchina.com/wechat).

Hello, I’m Oscar. In this trailer, I introduce the new features of Season 2 of the Mosaic of China podcast, including the PREMIUM version of the show that is now available on Patreon (https://patreon.com/mosaicofchina), and the new transcripts of the show (https://mosaicofchina.com/transcripts). The transcripts have been designed for anyone whose first language isn’t English, or for listeners with hearing impairments, or for any English speakers who want to follow the words that are spoken in Chinese on the show. The PREMIUM version of the show will include an average of 10-20 minutes of extra content for every episode, accumulating to up to 10 hours of extra content over the course of the entire season. This is what I came up with to keep the show free from advertising, while at the same time create a way to accept donations towards the cost of putting this all together. So if you have anything to spare, and you want to help fund this independent project as an early Christmas present, please head over to https://patreon.com/mosaicofchina, and you can look forward to getting some great extra content too. See the visuals and join the community on Instagram (https://instagram.com/mosaicofchina), Facebook (https://facebook.com/mosaicofchina), and WeChat (https://mosaicofchina.com/wechat).

If you were asked to name your favourite phrase in Chinese, would you choose something you hear every day in China like 差不多, 哎哟, and 没有? Or would you choose something deeper which reveals layers of meaning like 一山不容二虎, 养儿防老 and 而遇而不可求? In today's final compilation episode from Season 1, the guests discuss their favourite words and phrases in Chinese. So get ready to make notes in case you want steal any of them for yourself! See the visuals and join the community on Instagram (https://instagram.com/mosaicofchina), Facebook (https://facebook.com/mosaicofchina), WeChat (https://mosaicofchina.com/wechat) or Weibo (https://www.weibo.com/p/1005057279743869/wenzhang).

In today’s penultimate compilation episode from Season 1, we’re talking about the favourite places people like to frequent in China. And since this first season has focused on resident of Shanghai, the resulting answers are a love letter to all the restaurants, bars and cafés of this vibrant world-class city.  Whether you’re looking for recommendations of street food, high-end restaurants, bars, clubs, coffeeshops, malls or even supermarkets, you should find some inspiration from today’s episode. See the visuals and join the community on Instagram (https://instagram.com/mosaicofchina), Facebook (https://facebook.com/mosaicofchina), WeChat (https://mosaicofchina.com/wechat) or Weibo (https://www.weibo.com/p/1005057279743869/wenzhang).

The Mosaic of China podcast has been designed to have visual elements that can be enjoyed alongside its audio episodes. Today’s show is the biggest test of that theory, since it’s a compilation from Season 1 of the guests’ answers to the question: “What’s your favourite WeChat sticker?”. In the same week that Donald Trump has threatened to ban WeChat from the United States, we take a look at one of the most popular features of the app that’s ubiquitous in China: the sticker function. And as you’re listening to the episode, ask yourself what your favourite WeChat sticker would be, and what that choice would say about you. See the visuals and join the community on Instagram (https://instagram.com/mosaicofchina), Facebook (https://facebook.com/mosaicofchina), WeChat (https://mosaicofchina.com/wechat) or Weibo (https://www.weibo.com/p/1005057279743869/wenzhang).

This episode will touch a nerve with a lot of people. It’s a compilation of the things that the guests from Season 1 would miss the most and miss the least if they were to leave China. It was designed as a hypothetical question, but has now become a sad reality for those who left China temporarily during the pandemic but now, six months later, still have no way of returning. It is also the one question that elicits answers that might include some of the nuisances and frustrations that you pick up on in everyday life, allowing the guests the opportunity to vent a little. But I wonder now, if we were all forced to leave China, would the things that we thought we would miss the least, actually become the things about which we reminisce the most? See the visuals and join the community on Instagram (https://instagram.com/mosaicofchina), Facebook (https://facebook.com/mosaicofchina), WeChat (https://mosaicofchina.com/wechat) or Weibo (https://www.weibo.com/p/1005057279743869/wenzhang).

The topic of where we get our information has been in centre stage across the world, as societies debate the ideals of press freedom versus the dangers of fake news. So when I asked the 30 guests from Season 1 of the podcast about their favourite sources of information in China, I had no idea what kind of answers I would receive. The picture that emerged is an array of news and information sources, some of them official, others personal; some of them industry-specific, and others in the form of social media aggregators. And we see that, notwithstanding the very specific media landscape we experience in China, there are plenty of great information resources to discover. See the visuals and join the community on Instagram (https://instagram.com/mosaicofchina), Facebook (https://facebook.com/mosaicofchina) or WeChat (https://mosaicofchina.com/wechat).

Today marks the halfway point of these ten special compilation episodes that showcase the guests from Season 1 of the show, and I hope you've been persuaded to go back and take a listen to some of the original episodes you may have missed before. If not, let me try yet again to convince you: the theme of today's episode is the best and worst purchases that have been made in China. In a way, this episode is a window into China's shopping culture, and specifically it's unique e-commerce ecosystem. But actually it's more for just being nosy about what stuff people have got. See the visuals and join the community on Instagram (https://instagram.com/mosaicofchina), Facebook (https://facebook.com/mosaicofchina), WeChat (https://mosaicofchina.com/wechat) or Weibo (https://www.weibo.com/p/1005057279743869/wenzhang).

If you're an annoying person like me, you will love to share little pieces of trivia to unsuspecting listeners. You will think it makes you look clever to those around you, and you will accept their polite silent nods as proof of your awe-inspiring worldliness, oblivious to the reality of your unending tediousness. If any of that sounds familiar to you, then you will love today's special compilation episode from Season 1. Today we listen to how all the guests from the season answered the question: "What is your favourite China-related fact?". We cover everything from traditions to timezones, from diversity to durians, and from railways to rural migrant workers. So let's hear from you: what is your favourite China-related fact or piece of trivia? Please contribute to the communities on WeChat, Instagram and Facebook. See the visuals and join the community on Instagram (https://instagram.com/mosaicofchina), Facebook (https://facebook.com/mosaicofchina), WeChat (https://mosaicofchina.com/wechat) or Weibo (https://www.weibo.com/p/1005057279743869/wenzhang).

If there's one thing on which almost everyone can agree, it's on China's capacity to surprise. No matter whether you're a China outsider or someone who's been living here for decades, there will always be something to make you stop in your tracks. And this is just as much the case for Chinese people as it is for non-Chinese. Today's special compilation episode from Season 1of the podcast is an anthology of all the things that still surprise the guests about life in China. And listening to these answers together can remind us to keep that attitude of wonder in our lives. So what would be the thing that surprises *you* the most about life in China? Please contribute to the communities on WeChat, Instagram and Facebook. See the visuals and join the community on Instagram (https://instagram.com/mosaicofchina), Facebook (https://facebook.com/mosaicofchina), WeChat (https://mosaicofchina.com/wechat) or Weibo (https://www.weibo.com/p/1005057279743869/wenzhang).

Today's compilation episode is all about the podcast guests’ favourite songs to sing at KTV, the Chinese version of karaoke. Out of all the questions asked on Mosaic of China, this one elicited the biggest array of emotions: joy, pride, embarrassment and… sheer terror. There’s a reason why karaoke is so popular in China and other East Asian societies with a Confucian heritage: it’s an important catalyst for group social harmony. Unfortunately that doesn’t always guarantee group *vocal* harmony. But since no-one really cares about that… what would be *your* go-to song to sing at karaoke? Please contribute to the communities on WeChat, Instagram and Facebook. See the visuals and join the community on Instagram (https://instagram.com/mosaicofchina), Facebook (https://facebook.com/mosaicofchina), WeChat (https://mosaicofchina.com/wechat) or Weibo (https://www.weibo.com/p/1005057279743869/wenzhang).

In the first of 10 compilation episodes from Season 1, we listen to the guests's answers to the question: "What is your favourite travel destination within Mainland China". The answers range from cities with historical cities to the Gobi desert; from the mountains of Tibet to the lakes of Hangzhou and Nanjing; and from the beaches of Sanya to the Alpine scenery of northern Sichuan. So my question for you today is... where would be *your* favourite travel destination within mainland China? See the visuals and join the community on Instagram (https://instagram.com/mosaicofchina), Facebook (https://facebook.com/mosaicofchina), WeChat (https://mosaicofchina.com/wechat) or Weibo (https://www.weibo.com/p/1005057279743869/wenzhang).

For this special end of season wrap-up episode, I asked my friend and fellow podcaster Josh Ogden-Davis to join me for a chat. We talk about things like interview techniques, the editing process, and some of the show’s influences. But the main reason for recording this episode was to announce what’s coming next. See the visuals and join the community on Instagram (https://instagram.com/mosaicofchina), Facebook (https://facebook.com/mosaicofchina), and WeChat (https://mosaicofchina.com/wechat).

The final episode of the season is with the fashion designer Octo Cheung, who epitomises the phrase “East Meets West”. Raised in Hong Kong, trained in Europe, and employed in China, Octo explains how her own cultural development has helped to inform her personal philosophy and design aesthetic. You will find her observations fascinating, no matter how much you care about fashion or clothing. The most intriguing part of Octo’s story is the mystery behind her ultra high-profile private client. Did we leave enough clues for you to guess who it is? See the visuals and join the community on Instagram (https://instagram.com/mosaicofchina), Facebook (https://facebook.com/mosaicofchina), and WeChat (https://mosaicofchina.com/wechat).