Announcing enovate’s 2010 China Youth Tour

Nick here, signing in from Changsha.

I’ve been on the road for a week, and what a week it’s been: playing fooseball with China’s original punks, following a local graffiti crew as they tread along a foot-wide ledge to leave their mark on a bridge, a late night swim in the Yangtze river with a group of students, and ultimate frisbee with Changsha’s team, City Storm.

Fortunately, that’s just the start. This lucky enovater will be traveling the mainland for 3 – 4 months. The purpose? Offer a glimpse into the evolving nature of China’s youth cultures. More specifically, I intend to track the growing subcultures of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th tier cities. Tourist attractions will be forsaken in favor of coffee with creatives, bumping shoulders at markets, skateboarding with locals, campus visits, and evenings at music venues. It will be a full cultural immersion.

During my travels I’ll be staying with local youth, most of whom I’ll meet through CouchSurfing.com. For those unfamiliar with CouchSurfing, it’s an international social networking site that connects travelers with hosts in cities all over the world. Already popular throughout Europe and the Americas, it’s catching on in China. Before arriving to a city, I simply search for a host, send a request to crash on their couch, and voila. It’s a great way to meet locals, get a taste of their lifestyle, and see their city through their eyes.

Despite two comfy fast-train rides — one from Shanghai to Wuhan, the other Wuhan to Changsha — I’ll be getting around almost exclusively by hard seat. Again, it’s a great way to meet people. When you’re seated for 20+ hours with the lights on all night, you get friendly with your neighbors. Hours fly by as you cheer cheap beers, play poker, and succumb to the occasional cigarette handed to you. Once people get past the “where are you from; wow, your Chinese is good; are you studying or working” stage, people are eager to tell you their stories, and ask you yours. Without fail, I am offered stays and personal tours of people’s cities, towns, and villages. The hard seat section is where you’ll find the most generosity.

The route? Below is a rough plan. However, it’s subject to change as chance encounters and recommendations may throw me off course. It also fails to account for the occasional forays into rural areas and little-known low-tier cities.

View Rough Plan in a larger map

While traveling, I’ll be frequently updating the enovate website with stories, findings, tidbits, photos, and occasional rants; so make sure to check back frequently. I’ll also be actively tweeting from @enovate and my personal account @MrBaronBurns.

And of course, if you’re in any of the above cities, don’t hesitate to drop me a line on twitter or email (nick@enovatechina.com). If you have any suggestions of people to meet, places to go, things to do, or things you’d specifically like to hear about, feel free to tweet or leave a comment below.

’til next time,

Nick