Spring has arrived. Flowers are blooming, grass and plants are turning green. Mother Nature lives on her own rhythm of life. Life gets born and perished according to the set law of nature. The sun rises and sets. This year these all seem to have nothing to do with me. I have lost contact with nature and the ability to enjoy its beauty.

A special shout out to those of you who are fighting against the coronavirus！Let's reflect on how we’ll live our lives once this trial is behind us.

William Yip has devoted himself to practising and promoting educational drama for more than 20 years. During our conservation, we discussed the importance of drama education, the skills that young people can get through taking art classes and how it can only improve things for future generations.

For many people, the best career or job is the one that uses the skills you enjoy. William Yip is one of the few lucky people who has managed to turn their favorite hobby into their profession.

The Chinese people are now on the road not taken, but they shall overcome the novel coronavirus. This is dedicated to all who love, treasure, and protect life. Please stay put, stay strong, and stay safe. And have a happy Valentine’s Day!

Born in Beijing, William Yip moved to Hong Kong with his family when he was six. In 2015, he moved back to his birthplace and focused on new musicals and drama education for young people in the Chinese mainland.

The Spring Festival is the most important festival during the year for Chinese people. It's a time when people return home for a big family reunion. For some, the week-long holiday is even a time for marriage proposals and talk of wedding plans. Encounters invited four expats living in Beijing to share their memories about the Spring Festival.

Enoch Li founded "Bearapy" to help companies navigate organizational changes using a psycho-dynamic approach. She uses the psychology of playfulness for adult creativity, learning, and stress management.

Enoch Li shares her personal journey in battling severe depression and finding a way out of it through rediscovering her inner child.

Enoch Li is a social entrepreneur who founded her own B2B enterprise called 'Bearapy'. She has worked with multinationals, governments, and start-ups across Asia-Pacific and Europe, advocating emotional and mental health awareness to prevent burnout, depression, suicide and related issues.

The Chinese language is probably one of the most challenging to learn for native English speakers. To Richard Sears, an American enthusiast for ancient Chinese characters, studying the Chinese language was not just the impulse of youth, but a lifelong pursuit.

Richard Sears is widely known as 汉字叔叔, or Uncle Hanzi in China, a nickname given by Chinese netizens. At the age of 69, he has contributed a third of his life to the study of the Chinese language.

What's the first thing that comes to mind at the mention of Beijing? The hustle and bustle of the capital of one of the world's largest economies, or the ancient city whose history can be dated back 3,000 years? In Hao Jingfang's short story 'Folding Beijing', the author depicts the city as a rotating and highly hierarchical society.

Hao Jingfang is a Chinese science fiction writer. Her story “Folding Beijing” won the 2016 Hugo Award for Best Novelette, marking the first Hugo awarded to a Chinese woman. Jingfang used to work as a researcher at the China Development Research Foundation for six years. She now runs a startup in the field of child education, aiming to bring high quality general education to Chinese children.

One of Minter Dial’s works is the award-winning documentary film and book that he produced and wrote, “The Last Ring Home”. It’s the story of Minter’s grandfather’s missing ring, which miraculously made its way home 17 years after he was killed in World War II as a Japanese prisoner of war.

Minter Dial is an internationally known speaker and consultant on brand strategy and digital transformation. He is also a filmmaker and author of three books. In a brief introduction on his personal website, Minter describes himself as an “itinerant bohemian” in search of experiences and interesting people.

The Beijing Sound Museum is the creation of British conceptual artist Colin Chinnery. Most of the sounds you’ve heard in the museum can no longer be found in the capital today. Over the past few years, Colin has devoted himself to recording sundry sounds of traditional Beijing culture, as he feels some may soon fade away as urban development accelerates.

Colin Chinnery is a British artist and curator based in Beijing. One of his most popular art works is the Beijing Sound Museum in an old quadrangle courtyard, which recreates the history of the city using only sound.

In the field of economics, there have long been discussions about the underrepresentation of women. Even though in school exams, girls perform as well as boys in math and science, fewer women consider a professional career in these fields. Wang Dan, a China analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, shares her views on what it is like to be a female economist in a field that’s so traditionally dominated by men.

In the field of economics, there have long been discussions about the underrepresentation of women. Even though in school exams, girls perform as well as boys in math and science, fewer women consider a professional career in these fields. Wang Dan, a China analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, shares her views on what it is like to be a female economist in a field that’s so traditionally dominated by men.

Wang Dan is an analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit. She’s been working in the economic field for more than six years. When asked why she chose economics as her major, Dan says she simply chose it before her college entrance exam because she was good at math. And since then, she has developed a fine enthusiasm for the so-called ‘dismal science’.

As China emerges on the world stage, the 21st century has certainly given Chinese college graduates more career opportunities, both domestic and international. Fu Lu is typical of those Chinese graduates. Before she entered the job market, Fu Lu was lucky enough to get an intern opportunity at the UNEP office in Bangkok. Although her jobs and where she’s worked changed over the past 16 years, her passion about environmental protection has always remained the same.