Andre's impression of Yunnan

Editor's note: Andre is from South Africa, but he has interest in Chinese culture. In 2016, Andre came to Nanjing, China for work. In his spare time, he traveled around for Chinese culture. In 2020, he met and fell in love with a girl in Kunming and settled down here. Last year, Andre quitted his job and devoted himself to learning about Yunnan history and culture. Now, he runs accounts on social media, presenting local beauty with a lens.

Andre's impression of Yunnan

"The variety of rice noodles epitomizes food culture in Yunnan province. I’ll explore the stores and taste 100 bowls of rice noodles. You’re welcome to join me." In central Yunnan’s Kunming city, expat Andre du Plessis walked into an old rice noodle canteen, took pictures/videos, and posted them on social media. This "rice noodle lover" with blue eyes and blonde hair has been liked by many online.

Andre comes from South Africa. As an internationally certified public accountant, he once served as the chief financial officer of FirstRand Group, a top financial groups in Africa. Andre said he started studying Confucianism and the Book of Changes at the age of 18, and he has had zest in Chinese culture. At the age of 39, he finally embarked on a dreamy journey to China.

In 2016, Andre du Plessis came to Nanjing in east China’s Jiangsu province via a job transfer, and traveled around the country in his spare time. Before heading for any destination, he’d always learn about local history and poems by ancient literati. "It's like a time-space conversation in a sense". Whenever he posted travel notes and feelings on WeChat, his friends would call him "Xu Xiake of South Africa."

Xu was a Chinese travel writer and geographer of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), known best for his 600,000-word geographical treatise based on extensive tours across China. Andre also regards Xu as his role model, once admiring Xu’s idea that "a true man travels to the sea at morn and rests in the mountain at dusk". But he ceased to be a wanderer when meeting a person in Kunming.

Because of the person, he fell in love with the spring city. In 2019, Andre met a beautiful Kunming girl. Nourished by the spring-like climate and love in the province of colorful clouds, Andre settled down in Kunming, having traveled to 40 plus countries. He was eager to know about the city’s past and present.

The Covid outbreaks in 2020 changed Andre's habit of "traveling at will" in the past, and he realized travel is not all about life."If you just focus on something in distance, you’ll simply ignore the beauty around you, especially the city where you live," he said.

In 2021, Andre quitted his job and devoted himself to the study of Yunnan's history and culture. "Because of linguistic barriers, the books only told me something in general, so it’s very helpful to visit historical sites in person and dip myself into local ways of living." According to Andre, Chinese culture is less a record in ancient books, but more a manifestation in daily life. It’s time honoring and modern.

Following a year of careful preparation, Andre began running his own accounts on social media in February this year. To this end, he purchased some Chinese equipment, including a new energy vehicle, mobile phones, drones and more. He hopes to show the world the beauty of Kunming and Yunnan via Chinese technology. Andre’s updates are mostly about his own finds and exploration in Yunnan culture, while the hashtag of "tasting 100 bowls of rice noodles in 100 days" is the most popular. He believes that food hunting is not only a discovery of beauty, but also a taste of culture, so it is widely accepted.

To be cooperative in Covid prevention, Andre put off his planned tours to the border areas in Yunnan. "We should be responsible for our safety and health, and only with the preventive measures, can we keep the urban life in order and worry less." Wearing a mask, Andre walked into the Yunnan Ethnic Museum and began to appreciate Chinese culture in melodious folk songs.

Reporting by Xiong Jiaxin; Photos by CNS; Trans-editing by Wang Shixue