STORY: British man pursues idyllic life in China's Wuyuan
SHOOTING TIME: Recent footage
DATELINE: Feb. 16, 2025
LENGTH: 00:01:22
LOCATION: WUYUAN, China
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Wuyuan
2. various of homestays in Wuyuan
3. SOUNDBITE (English): EDWARD GAWNE, Owner of Victoria House
4. various of homestays in Wuyuan

STORYLINE:

Edward Gawne from Britain and Liao Minxin from China are a couple who used to live in Shanghai. 

In a driving tour to Wuyuan in east China's Jiangxi Province, they fell in love with the place and decided to settle down there. 

Now, the couple run two homestays in Wuyuan.

SOUNDBITE (English): EDWARD GAWNE, Owner of Victoria House
"My name is Edward Gawne. I came from the UK. I've been in China since 2011. So originally I worked in marketing in London and I moved to the same company in Shanghai. That's where I met Selina, my wife. Selina had the idea originally of doing a hotel. And we've been in Wuyuan now since 2016, I would say, so eight years. So we've got one old house hotel, Wuyuan Skywells. And that focuses more on an international market. And then this is Victoria House. This is our British-themed manor, focusing more on the domestic Chinese market. I like the space. I like the quiet. I spend a lot of my time going out hiking, going cycling. One thing the government is really good at here is building roads to small little villages, making sure every village has a good road. I think having a hotel is not a passive business. We have to be here, running it, loving it, sort of leading the team, taking care of guests. I think we can never go too far from these hotels. It's sort of a life that we both enjoy, that our kids really enjoy."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Wuyuan, China.
(XHTV)