In 2008, Belgian Tobias (Chinese name Gao Yue) first came to Shanghai, China. Over the past ten years, he has spent roughly half of his time living in Shanghai, working in music composition, live performances, creating short videos, and even attempting to promote local Shanghai culture, effectively becoming a "China expert."
In fact, before coming to China, Tobias's understanding of the country was quite limited. "I just knew there was a country called China with a lot of people living there. I ate some Chinese food before I went… And I didn't have an idea about how China actually was.'"
The surprises China brought to Tobias began the moment he stepped off the plane. Tobias recalls that as soon as he got off the plane, he immediately felt, "This is different, but at the same time, it feels familiar."
Tobias explains that the Chinese people have a culture of "mutual assistance and support," which is referred to as "tuanjie" (unity in Chinese). This is very different from the "independence" emphasized in Belgium and Europe. Tobias admits that he really likes this feeling of "doing things together with many people" and is also attracted by the Chinese people's drive to achieve goals and their mentality of "if they want to accomplish something, they will definitely do it."
Furthermore, as the saying goes, "Food is the paramount necessity of the people," China's rich and diverse cuisine has also been a key attraction for Tobias. In China, people often greet each other by saying, "Hey, have you eaten?" He joked, "At first, it felt a bit weird, but after staying in China for a long time, I understand that many things here revolve around food."
Music as medium to promote European understanding of China
Tobias's personal experiences after coming to China made him realize the importance of "seeing is believing." Tobias says that he has met many people who have never been to China and only see information on social media, leading them to develop stereotypes about China. But when these people come to China and see what China is really like, they say, "Wow, this is actually not true. It's way more positive."
To this end, Tobias began by drawing on his own profession. He started organizing Belgian and European artists to tour China, hoping that they could visit different places through performances and gain a deeper understanding of the country. At the same time, he also tries to bring his Chinese musician friends to Europe to hold concerts, hoping to build more bridges for communication between China and Europe.
In this process, one of the most notable events that occurred to Tobias was in May of this year. He and a Belgian jazz organist toured China. After the performance, the organist's impression of China was: "Chinese audiences are so engaged and so young." This is entirely different from the situation in Europe, where the average age of jazz audiences is higher. The musician couldn't help but exclaim, "This is great, Belgium should learn from China in this regard."
Promoting China-EU exchange: "Everyone can do something"
In addition to musical performances, Tobias's other important role now is as a short video blogger. Wherever he goes, he shoots videos and shares them with the world through social media. Tobias hopes that those who don't have the opportunity or can't see the truth with their own eyes can understand China through his eyes, or after watching his videos, "they will have the urge to go to China and see for themselves, that would be great."
As China-EU relations reach their 50th anniversary, the exchange and cooperation between countries and regions seems to be an incredibly grand topic. However, in Tobias's view, everyone can actually do something from their own perspective, whether it's maintaining an open mind, communicating with people from different countries and backgrounds, or trying to facilitate exchanges between musicians and sharing every video. The most significant changes may arise from the cumulative effect of these small things.
Speaking of his wishes, Tobias admits that the continuous optimization and relaxation of China's visa-free transit policy has made it easier for Europeans to travel to China, which also helps Europeans understand China. "In the future, if Chinese people can also come to Europe visa-free, it will make many things easier, which is also my wish."
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