When Peter Hessler’s classic River Town hit bookshelves in 2001, it inspired droves of wannabe writers to try their hand at capturing the charm, the complexities and the contradictions that make up modern China. Now, the bar has been raised and the competition has grown fiercer for young people trying to make a name for themselves in China-based writing and journalism.

For today’s podcast, we’ve invited three young guests who’ve treaded through this environment to become successful journalists. Tom Hancock from AFP, Jon Kaiman from The Guardian and Alec Ash, a freelancer and contributing author to Chinese Characters, join us to discuss what it takes to tell compelling stories about the Middle Kingdom.

Have a question you’d like to hear discussed in a future episode with specially chosen experts? Record it and send it to chinahangup@gmail.com.

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