Category: Video

Beijing before the start of the Cultural Revolution – a video by Bill Callahan

In the early 1960s, after being embarrassed at diplomatic events by the mistakes of his interpreters, Zhou Enlai decided that the Foreign Ministry needed to recruit English native speakers to train a new cadre of translators. Australians Colin and Alyce Mackerras answered Zhou’s call, and in August 1964 went to teach English at the Beijing Foreign Languages Institute for two years. Bill Callahan’s short video ‘China Bound 1964’ explores Colin’s experiences as he encountered a radically different way of life. Leaving China in September 1966, he witnessed the transformation of Chinese society provoked by the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.

A car collector builds an empire of Communist relics – Tom Fearon

In the final episode of the four-part series ‘Portrait of a Beijinger,’ Tom Fearon and Abel Blanco profile Luo Wenyou, a classic car enthusiast who leaves the civil service in his rear-view mirror, instead collecting the classic “Red Flag” cars that were the stalwart of Communist officials. The video is on Youku for streamers in China, and on Vimeo as embedded below. Keep reading for Tom’s essay about Luo.

A tai chi master coaches China’s top students – Tom Fearon

In the third episode of the four-part series ‘Portrait of a Beijinger,’ Tom Fearon and Abel Blanco profile Lü Yan, a tai chi master who went to martial arts academy with Jet Li. The video is on Youku for streamers in China, and also on Vimeo as embedded below, along with Tom’s write-up of Lü Yan's story.

An amateur collects war relics in his bunker – Tom Fearon

In this second episode of the four-part series ‘Portrait of a Beijinger,’ Tom Fearon and Abel Blanco profile Yang Guoqing, a deli owner who sweeps for war relics in the mountains near Beijing. The video is viewable on Youku for streamers in China, and on Vimeo as embedded below. Keep reading for Tom’s essay on meeting Yang, and why he is so fascinated by wartime China.

A Peking Opera singer takes off his mask – Tom Fearon

Editor’s note: Portrait of a Beijinger is a four-part video series by Tom Fearon and Abel Blanco, profiling a different and unusual character from the streets of Beijing. In this first episode of the series, Tom meets Peking Opera singer Liu Xinran, and describes the encounter in his own words below. The video is viewable on Youku for streamers in China, and on Vimeo.

Portrait of a Beijinger 北京人的肖像 - Beneath the Makeup 脸谱之下 from Abel Blanco on Vimeo.