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In this episode, meet Edward Gawne!

Ed shares his journey of moving from London, the United Kingdom, to Shanghai, China and then to the countryside to open a heritage hotel. He discusses his motivations: on the one hand, the role of ‘anti role models’ (and a person called ‘John’, who we’ll meet). On the other hand, his quest for an “interesting life.”

Ed first came to China as part of a corporate exchange program called Passport Abroad. For five months, he lived and worked in Shanghai. As he put it, he came to “like his life in China more than his life in London.” He then came back to live and work permanently in Shanghai.

But then, again as Ed puts it, “No one dreams of a career in market research”, and he took his life in a completely different direction, transitioning from a market research office in Shanghai to buying his first hotel in Jiangxi, China. This was a significant leap, to say the least! His wife, Selina, played a pivotal role in this journey. Ed first took a year out to learn Chinese full time and ‘scout the area.’ How did they find their hotel? What is ownership like in the countryside? We’ll cover all of this, and more, in this episode.

Ed and I also dissect the Chinese countryside a bit in this episode: what is the fascination Chinese have with the countryside? Why do they visit? Are their expectations met, or not? We also chat about the Chinese consumer psyche.

Ed and Selina have two hotels, as below. Please pay them a visit!

Wuyuan Skywells: https://wuyuanskywells.com/

Victoria House: https://wuyuanskywells.com/victoria-house/

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Thank you for listening to this episode of Wayfinders! If you find this interesting, please share. If you know someone suitable to be a guest (yourself included!), please let me know – very grateful.

See you next time,
Sacha.