Middle Earth - China’s cultural industry podcast

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Ruby Chen, one of the founding members of the Hong Kong–based China Next (CNEX), tells the story of their nonprofit, which is aimed at promoting and producing Chinese documentaries. She describes her work in identifying and cultivating promising Chinese documentary filmmakers, the challenges and advantages these filmmakers are faced with, and how younger artists are taking novel approaches to creating and sharing their films with the help of new technology and ideas in the 21st century. 

Featuring:
Ruby Chen : Co-Founder & CEO of CNEX

Middle Earth is made by China Compass Productions and hosted by Aladin Farré. If you have a China-themed cultural project like shooting your next documentary or look for a specific talent, please get in touch! 

Podcast's chapters
4:48: The history of CNEX
16:12: Creativity is changing in China 
19:45: Perceptions of Chinese filmmakers
28:46: Is filmmaking in China getting harder?

Recommended watching:
- Umbrella… 伞... (2007)
-1428 (2009)
-KJ: Music and Life 音乐人生 (2009)
- Mothers 妈妈的村庄 (2013)
- A Young Patriot 少年小赵 (2015)
- Look Love 对看 (2015)
-Plastic China 塑料王国 (2016)

With thanks to Brenden Gonsalves  for graphic design & Sean Calvo for music support. 

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The pace of urbanization in contemporary China is nothing short of dizzying. Seventy years ago, at the time of the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, 80% of the population were farmers based in rural areas. Now, over 60% of all Chinese citizens live in cities of various sizes, and it is projected that by 2030, the number of urban dwellers will exceed 1 billion. As one would expect, the challenges that these dynamics pose to Chinese architects and urban planners are staggering. So how do these beleaguered builders design a modern city in China from scratch in the face of so many changing variables? How do they create cities that strike a balance between modern and traditional aesthetics? And what kinds of obstacles can they expect to face throughout this process?

Featuring:
Andrea Krupski von Mansberg : Architect & urban designer
Li Shuwen | 李书雯 : Architect & urban planner
Lars Ulrik Thom : Founder of Beijing Postcards

Middle Earth is made by China Compass Productions and hosted by Aladin Farré. If you have a China-themed cultural project like shooting your next documentary or look for a specific talent, please get in touch! 

Recommended watching:
- Imperial City Wall Relics Park, located on the east side of the Forbidden City in Beijing.
- Xiangshan Central Campus of the China Academy of Art, located in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. 

Answers to the episode quiz:
- The CCTV headquarters in Beijing is the most expensive building in China, with an estimated cost of $800 million (approximately 5.7 billion yuan).
- Tiananmen Square has the same area as Vatican City, 0.44 km2 (0.17 sq mi).
- Ordos (鄂尔多斯) may be the most famous Chinese “ghost town.” Located in Inner Mongolia, Ordos was supposed to house almost a million people working in the natural resources industry.

With thanks to Brenden Gonsalves  for graphic design & Sean Calvo for music support. 

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Lured by a potentially large and lucrative market, major theater productions are increasingly making the jump from the bright lights of Broadway or the West End to the less familiar but no less lively avenues by the Bund or the Second Ring Road. Yet, according to Gaultier Létourneau-Ross, director of operations at a Canadian company that assists foreign theater troupes seeking to perform in China, much remains to be worked out in terms of effectively producing these types of international productions — from marketing and filling seats to staging and censorship. 

Featuring:
Gaultier Létourneau-Ross: Director of Operations at Saimen

Middle Earth is made by China Compass Productions and hosted by Aladin Farré. If you have a China-themed cultural project like shooting your next documentary or look for a specific talent, please get in touch! 

Recommended watching and listening:
Sleep No More: An English-language immersive play that has been staged in Shanghai for the past two years.
- Team Lab: A Japanese group that creates interactive art.
- Shen Yun: A U.S.-based performing arts and entertainment company (closely linked to Falun Gong).
- Wuzhen Theater Festival: One of the biggest Chinese theater festivals, which was launched in 2013.

With thanks to Brenden Gonsalves  for graphic design & Sean Calvo for music support. 

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Children’s entertainment is a growing industry in China, with many opportunities for flexible and innovative creators to produce marketable content. Prospects are particularly bright for those working at the intersection of children’s entertainment and education, which has long been an important source of revenue in a country where 93 percent of families pay out-of-pocket for tuition and related fees, according to a 2017 HSBC study. On this episode we discuss the economics of children’s entertainment in China, and how creators can engage in this corner of the market. 

Featuring:
Kevin Geiger: Partner, Magic Dumpling Entertainment
Natasha Shetye: Studio Manager, Thinkwell Group
April Wang: Manager at Beijing Playhouse

Middle Earth is made by China Compass Productions and hosted by Aladin Farré. If you have a China-themed cultural project like shooting your next documentary or look for a specific talent, please get in touch! 

Recommended watching and listening:
-White Snake 白蛇: 缘起 (2019), a Chinese animated film.
- Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf 喜羊羊与灰太狼, a popular Chinese animated TV series launched in 2005.

Answers to the episode quiz:
- Kung Fu Panda is the hit American animated film that, given the content, made many Chinese netizens openly question why China had not produced anything similar.
- Honor of Kings (王者荣耀) is the video game that now features a time limit for children and teenagers playing it.
-Wáng Fúmǎn (王福满), the real name of the schoolboy who braved an ice storm to walk to school and whose photo, complete with icicles in his hair, went viral on the Chinese internet — earning him the nickname “Ice Boy.”
- Only 30 percent of proceeds at the Chinese box office went to animated films produced in China between 2011 and 2017.

With thanks to Brenden Gonsalves  for graphic design & Sean Calvo for music support. 

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This week on the Middle Earth Podcast, Aladin sits down over a pint with Sun Yao (孙遥), the proprietor of his favorite local cultural venue-cum-cafe, to talk about the business end of the cultural industry in China. Like the owners of many niche bars and cafes across China, Sun seeks to turn a profit at his hutong establishment, Camera Stylo, by screening films, hosting live events, and otherwise trying to make art pay. 

A film buff and dedicated entrepreneur, Sun shares his four years of experience running a small business in the hutongs of Beijing trying to bring films and cultural conversations to his diverse clientele. In spite of a rough early start — some of which he spent sleeping in the cafe itself — Sun has managed to ensure Camera Stylo has been able to survive and thrive in a challenging environment.

Featuring:
Sun Yao | 孙遥 : Proprietor of Camera Stylo

Middle Earth is made by China Compass Productions and hosted by Aladin Farré. If you have a China-themed cultural project like shooting your next documentary or look for a specific talent, please get in touch! 

Recommended watching and listening:
- Aotu Space 凹凸空间 (WeChat Account: aotuspace_bj)
- China Film Archive 中国电影资料馆 | Website

With thanks to Brenden Gonsalves  for graphic design & Sean Calvo for music support. 

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Podcasting is rapidly becoming the next boom industry in China, with approximately 80 million daily downloads of podcasts and a projected audience of 486 million total. When it comes to putting a number on the industry, however, things get less clear. Some estimate that China’s podcast industry is worth upward of $7 billion, citing a report by China’s State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television. However, this figure is likely somewhat off the mark — the $7 billion figure refers only to “pay for knowledge” programming, that is, educational shows that consumers pay for directly. A more comprehensive number that takes into account free content or podcasts supported by advertisements remains elusive. By comparison, podcasters based in the U.S. made an estimated $314 million in 2017, a number that is projected to double by 2020. Meanwhile, the U.S. “pay for knowledge” industry is estimated to have earned $12 billion in 2016, according to our peer podcast also available on the Sinica Network, TechBuzz China by Pandaily.   

Featuring
Joshua Thomas Ogden-Davis : Writer & Podcaster at Ximalaya (喜马拉雅)
Kou Aizhe |  寇爱哲 : Founder & Host of Story FM (故事FM)
Yu Wanying | 于婉莹 : Founder & Host of Museelogue( 博物志)

Middle Earth is made by China Compass Productions and hosted by Aladin Farré. If you have a China-themed cultural project like shooting your next documentary or look for a specific talent, please get in touch! 

Recommended watching and listening
- "Digitally China", a podcast about China’s tech innovation.
- "Chinese Cooking Demystified", a YouTube cooking show.
- 日谈公园, a Chinese podcast about China’s culture today.
- 忽左忽右, another Chinese podcast about China’s culture today.

Quiz's answers
- Ximalaya claimed $100 million dollars of revenue in 2017.
- Cai Kangyong (蔡康永) earned 35 million RMB with his podcast "Good Talk" (好好说话).
- Zeng Pengyu (曾鹏宇) had his book content shamelessly stolen by the podcast "Peaceful Goddess" (平安娘娘).

With thanks to Brenden Gonsalves  for graphic design & Sean Calvo for music support. 

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Live art is one of the few mediums that hasn’t been radically transformed by the digital age. No screen is yet able to capture the magic of in-person performance, be it a comedy show, theater, or even Peking opera. The live performance scene is particularly vibrant in contemporary Beijing, where comedy and theater offerings are as diverse as they are popular. In this episode, Aladin interviews some of Beijing’s emerging live performers to discuss what happens on the stage — and behind the scenes.     

Featuring
Jesse Appell : Comedian and Director of the US-China Comedy Center
Raimund Rosarius : Director, Author & Curator   
Xie Peifan | 謝配釩 : Director, Actor & Teacher

Middle Earth is made by China Compass Productions and hosted by Aladin Farré. If you have a China-themed cultural project like shooting your next documentary or look for a specific talent, please get in touch! 

Recommended watching and listening
- Lao She (老舍) : Chinese novelist and dramatist.
- Penghao Theatre : Beijing’s first private theater in Beijing.
- Mahua FunAge (开心麻花): Chinese private comedy enterprise that develops and produces plays, films, stand-up comedy, and TV shows.
- Zhao Benshan( 赵本山) : Chinese actor and director best known for his frequent appearances on the CCTV New Year’s Gala. He has produced less work in recent years, possibly as a result of political attacks.

Quiz's answers
- Xiangsheng (相声), also known as “crosstalk,”  is a centuries-old traditional form of Chinese comedic art, usually featuring two performers.
- During the Cultural Revolution, only eight revolutionary operas (样板戏) were allowed to be staged.
- The white mask in Peking Opera signifies treachery and stupidity.   

With thanks to Brenden Gonsalves  for graphic design & Sean Calvo for music support. 

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Voices from China’s large but marginalized LGBTQ and feminist communities are increasingly making themselves heard in contemporary culture. In particular, artists and activists from these groups are creating content around the idea of “nontraditional love,” which is resonating strongly even with mainstream Chinese audiences. So how have the stories of creators from historically silenced and censored groups found footholds in contemporary culture?

Featuring
Qin Sachi : Manager, Transgender Rights Program, Beijing LGBT Center Beijing
Wei Xiaogang : Executive Director, Producer, Beijing GENDER (同志亦凡人)
Evangeline Z:  Feminist activist and comedian

Middle Earth is made by China Compass Productions and hosted by Aladin Farré. If you have a China-themed cultural project like shooting your next documentary or look for a specific talent, please get in touch! 

Recommended watching and listening
- Farewell My Concubine (霸王别姬 - 1993)
- East Palace, West Palace (东宫西宫 - 1996)
- Home With Kids (家有儿女 - 2004–2007)
- Mama Rainbow (彩虹伴我心 - 2012)
- Addicted (上瘾 - 2016)
- Chinese Dating With the Parents (中国式相亲), hosted by one of China’s most famous transgender people, Jin Xing (金星)

With thanks to Brenden Gonsalves  for graphic design & Sean Calvo for music support. 

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Clubs and live performances featuring international music started taking off in China in the 1980s. Initially, the scene was very focused on foreign diplomats, journalists, and students who rented out restaurants and other spaces on the weekends. Gradually, as policies governing public radio broadcasts underwent reforms that allowed the performance of international music, a broader audience had access to the genre. Fast-forward to the present day: There is no shortage of music festivals, clubs, and other venues in China that feature performances by artists from around the world — to the extent that, if current trends continue, electronic music will be the most popular genre on Chinese radio airwaves by the early 2020s. In this live recording of the Middle Earth Podcast at the 2019 WISE festival, a few industry insiders discuss the current trends in this lively line of work.   

Featuring
Philipp Grefer : Founder, WISE and Fake Music Media
Isla Angus : Booking Agent, ATC Live
Paul Neuteboom : Managing Director, Brother Hood Music
Fay Haixuan Wang : Vice President at China Minsheng Cultural Media Development
Chang Liu –: Chief Operating Officer, Pillz Records
Chang Youdai : Radio and Club DJ 

Middle Earth is made by China Compass Productions and usually hosted by Aladin Farré. If you have a China-themed cultural project like shooting your next documentary or look for a specific talent, please get in touch! 

Recommended watching and listening
- Cui Jian (崔健) the “Father of Chinese Rock”
- Tang Dynasty (唐朝乐队) often credited as the first Chinese heavy metal band

With thanks to Brenden Gonsalves  for graphic design & Sean Calvo for music support. 

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The stark cultural differences between China and the West are frequently identified as key barriers in productive professional exchanges. However, the mechanisms by which people can actually improve their cultural understanding — or “cultural literacy” — are less clear. How can professionals in China and the West bridge gaps in understanding ensuring that business can sail smoothly?   

Featuring
Vincent Vierron : Director
Beatrix Frisch : General Manager at Mackevision
Joey Wang : Scriptwriter

Middle Earth is made by China Compass Productions and hosted by Aladin Farré. If you have a China-themed cultural project like shooting your next documentary or look for a specific talent, please get in touch!

Three main takeaways from this week’s episode:      
1) In Chinese workplaces, flexibility is key.   
Partially as a result of China’s incredibly competitive labor market, workplaces in China tend to be much more flexible than their counterparts in the West. Media professionals should be ready at any moment for a change in a script or the editing of a commercial, with little notice or supporting budget. At the same time, Chinese workers will almost always respond to their emails on a Saturday evening or late at night (a habit that is far from widespread in Europe, for example). All of this results in sky-high rates of employee turnover as burnout and ambition take their toll.   

2) Top-down approaches are standard in China.
In the office, the boss is king. He (or she!) will always get the last word, no matter how much work went into a project beforehand. However, if an employee is flexible and patient, they can hopefully avoid the worst surprises.

3) Chinese work culture is constantly evolving.
Whether the workplace is a state-owned enterprise or a private, international firm, internal procedures will inevitably vary wildly. What remains constant is that China has come a long way since the beginning of the reform and opening up period, so “middlemen” who take commissions only to put people in contact tend to be less important. 

Recommended watching and listening
- The Flower of War (2011)

Quiz's answers
- Matteo Ricci (1552–1610) was an Italian Jesuit priest who became the first European to enter the Forbidden City of Beijing in 1601, when the Wanli Emperor (万历帝) sought his services in court astronomy and calendrical science. He converted several prominent Chinese officials to Catholicism and translated Euclid's Elements into Chinese as well as the Confucian classics into Latin.
- Da Shan (大山), or Mark Henry Rowswell, is a Canadian comedian and television personality who is one of the most famous Western personalities in China. He has appeared several times on CCTV’s Spring Festival Gala since 1988.
- The Flower of War (2011) is the second-biggest flop at the Chinese box office after The Great Wall (2016). Zhang Yimou directed both films. 

With thanks to Brenden Gonsalves  for graphic design & Sean Calvo for music support.