Beimeng Fu and Zhaoyin Feng join the Belt and Road Podcast to talk about durian, a tropical fruit most widely known for its strong and divisive odor. It's also a fruit in very high demand in China; the country consumes 1.5 million tons of durian per year. Beimeng and Zhaoyin talk about how Chinese consumption of the fruit is driving durian plantation expansion across Southeast Asia and what that means for the region.

Beimeng Fu is an independent multimedia journalist and filmmaker based in Mexico. She previously worked as senior producer of original video and documentary production at Sixth Tone. Her work has been published by The Washington Post, BuzzFeed News, ABC News, South China Morning Post, among others. She co-publishes Far & Near, a visual newsletter about China from local perspectives.

Zhaoyin Feng is an independent journalist and documentary producer, specializing in covering China and its place in the world. She has reported from the U.S., Europe, and Asia for a wide range of international media outlets. She previously worked as a North America correspondent and investigative documentary producer at the BBC World Service, reporting in both English and Chinese in digital, television, and audio formats.

Recommendations:

Beimeng:

Welcome Me to the Kingdom by Mai Nardone (2023)

Zhaoyin:

Howtown show on Youtube from Adam Cole and Joss Fong
The Present Past show on Youtube from Jochem

Erik:

Kendrick Lamar & SZA concert
Minneapolis

Juliet:

Podcast episode on Initium where Beimeng and Zhaoyin discuss their research in Chinese (and try listening at 0.75 speed if you need to practice your Mandarin!)

Thanks for listening!