My interest in China began in early 2008 after completing an introductory Chinese language course during high school. At the time, my classmates thought I was foolish to learn a language that was unintelligible and difficult. I remember sitting in the library of my high school and looking at a computer full of strange characters and pronunciations, which I came to realize was called pinyin. I was instantly fascinated with them and returned home later that day to tell my father of my captivation with Mandarin Chinese. “One day China will rule the world,” my father simply said. At first, I doubted my ability to learn Chinese but looking back I do not have a single regret.

Before graduating high school in late 2008, I had already applied to some of England’s top universities for China Studies programs, including the University of Edinburgh, the University of Manchester, and the University of Nottingham. Despite receiving offers from all three, I chose the University of Nottingham, for a one-year exchange program to the university’s China campus in Ningbo, Zhejiang was offered. But after arriving there, I had mostly stayed on the campus, daring not to venture out into a whole new culture. Later, a field trip took me to Shanghai and Beijing, China’s two major cities, opening my eyes to its economic modernization, rapid urbanization, sustainable development as well as how amongst all the growth the country maintained its traditional culture and values.

In 2011, I graduated with distinction and was offered a full scholarship for a Master of Arts China Studies program taught entirely in Chinese at Zhejiang University, one of China’s most prestigious academic institutions, which, unbeknownst to me, would become the place where my academic career would flourish some years later. After graduating from Zhejiang University with merit and fluent in Mandarin in 2013, I went on to be offered a full scholarship for my PhD in Culture Studies at the University of Nottingham, Ningbo.

While my research focus has been on China, both late-imperial and contemporary, for the past decade, there have been changes over time: first on China’s soft power, and the perception of Confucius Institutes among Western students interested in China and the Chinese language, then on online queer literature in contemporary China and now on the relationship between humans, animals and queer in late-imperial Chinese fiction, with a particular focus on Qing dynasty tales by well-known writers such as Pu Songling and Ji Yun (or Ji Xiaolan). I still remember picking up an old Classical Chinese version of Pu Songling’s Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio as I sat in a Cat Café in the historical town Xitang in Jiashan county during Christmas in 2013. Admittedly my Classical Chinese was not as strong as I would like it to be, but from the little I understood I was immediately drawn by the supernatural and strange creatures and happenings in this work, but perhaps more so by the fact that these figures and events are instructional and moral against the author’s own worldly society. Indeed, they are the essence of traditional Chinese culture, reflecting on Buddhist, Daoist and Confucian beliefs, and are a thrilling read for any Western scholar.

What may have become strikingly obvious by now is that my academic life in China revolves around Zhejiang. My home is in Ningbo, a major port and industrial hub in the province. While Hangzhou, the provincial capital city, boasts the West Lake, a personal love of mine due to its historical and cultural significance, Ningbo also has much history and culture: it’s home to the 1516 landmark Tianyi Ge, one of China’s oldest libraries, Ningbo Museum, exhibiting regional artifacts dating to the Neolithic Hemudu Culture, and Tianyi Square, a vibrant city-center featuring a musical fountain and bounded by shopping arcades.

At present, I am a visiting scholar at Zhejiang University’s International Business School, which is part of the university’s newly opened International Campus in Haining, a county-level city. The International Business School, which offers a Master of China Studies program, attracted me straight away. Not only was I once part of the China Studies program at Zhejiang University, the first in China, but this program aims to prepare young scholars for a career in a broad range of sectors where they can implement their knowledge on China and/or East Asia.

But I was able to join the university only in September 2020, having been stuck in the UK with my wife and son for nine months because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was my longest time away from China in a decade, and probably the longest nine months of my life, during which time I realized just how much I cannot live without China. China’s fast pace of life, public transportation, street food, dining out, traveling, natural beauty, but most importantly the general feeling of safety living in China were sorely missed. I have never felt safe enough to take myself or my family out at night in the UK. As I often tell my British friends back home, all this time in China I have never, not even for once, found myself in danger. No robbery. No theft. All the Chinese I have met were friendly, nice, and happy. For me, China is the safest country in the world, and my first-hand experience says it all. After over 70 years of hard work, what meets the eye across the vast expanse of the country today is vigor, dynamism, and promise.

My “survival” in China, or more specifically in Zhejiang, would not be conceivable without the most important people in my life, my wife and two-year-old son. I met my wife in 2015, when I was still completing my PhD and under immense stress, teaching English as a second language to business professionals to earn some money for rent and food.

As fate would have it, on the way out of my teaching building one day, we came across each other and it was love at first sight — we were married two years later. My wife gives me much support both in life and in academic work, presenting me with fresh ideas now and then. I am a strong believer in work-life balance. Work, admittedly, can bring many personal delights, but life would be meaningless without anyone to share these achievements with. I would not be where I am today without the support and love of my family.

My love for China started in research, and this love now goes on with my family and academic career at Zhejiang University.

Thomas William Whyke is a scholar in China Studies. He is currently a visiting professor and will be an Assistant Professor and Academic Director of China Studies at Zhejiang University International Business School later this year. Thomas has published numerous SSCI and AHCI papers in highly regarded international journals, including Journal of the History of Sexuality, Society & Animals, Journal of Homosexuality, Journal of Chinese Humanities, Fudan Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences, and Animation: An Interdisciplinary Journal. He wholly enjoys teaching courses to talented undergraduate and graduate students who share his passion for China Studies, including Intercultural Communication, History of Chinese Civilization, Introduction to Contemporary China, and Academic Writing.