Matthew Byrne | Writer, Founder, Digital Marketer

The Voices of Beijing

Beijing Lights is a bilingual interview series sharing first-person stories from the lives of ordinary Beijing residents. A barber in the park, a troubled wife on a train, a passionate stone collector, a blind massage therapist — people who pass us every day, whose voices are almost never heard, submerged in the noise of city life. Creator Huang Chenkuang captures each life succinctly and poetically, finding the quiet poetry inside the mundane.

On 14th December 2019, as part of the Spittoon MEGACITY series, Aotu Space hosted the first dedicated Beijing Lights event. Kuang presented selections from the series and joined co-curator David Huntington for a conversation about her process, the many faces that pass us by in the city, and the stories behind each interview.

The Speakers

Huang Chenkuang (Kuang) — creator of the Beijing Lights interview series. Holds an MFA in English-Chinese translation and interpretation from Beijing International Studies University with a focus on literature.

David Huntington (Moderator) — managing web editor at SpittoonCollective.com. His work has appeared in Literary Hub, Literary Shanghai, and Post Road. His screenplay New Violence was selected for the 2018 Middlebury Script Lab.

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Originally published December 2019 on the Spittoon WeChat channel. The event took place at Aotu Space, 67 Beixinqiao Toutiao, Beijing, 14th December 2019, 2pm to 4pm.

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