ABOUT
I am Shuailin Wu, and my colleagues call me by Simba. I am now a Ph.D. candidate in human geography at Sun Yat-Sen University. I received my dual master’s degree in landscape architecture and urban design at Washington University in St. Louis in 2018, and bachelor’s degree in agriculture (major in horticulture) at Beijing Forestry University in 2015. I have returned to China and lived in Guangzhou since January 2019. It is the place that holds my formative years and cherished memories. For the last few years, I have been constantly and consciously (re)developing my narratives of Guangzhou.
Before enrolling in the Ph.D. program, I started a small firm with my two colleagues, and worked on local projects in Guangdong, China. These projects encompassed urban village rejuvenation, village transformation, distinctive town planning, and comprehensive tourism master planning. I have also worked freelance for a landscape and urban design education institute, in which I adeptly guided various design studio courses and provided personalized mentorship to individual students.
Starting from a tiny little plant cell, to culturing tissue into an entire plant, to composition of different trees and shrubs, to gardens that engage and enlighten people, to green infrastructures and public spaces that influence urban and social processes, I keep expanding my perspective and narrative of the surroundings. My motivation is fairly simple, that is, to fulfill my curiosity about the world we live in.
Beyond my academic work, I have also started my amateurish brewing practice since 2020, which I considered as an embodied and sensational engagement with places, that enhance my understanding and perception of milieu, terroir, genius loci, local customs, urban forage, and craftmanship. The nexus of craft, taste, and the interplay between science and art captivates my interest. I have diligently acquired expertise through self-guided learning and formal brewing course. Notably, I am now a licensed beer judge, recognized by the Beer Judge Certification Program.
My current research interests and ongoing research projects:
(Anti Ocularcentric) (Urban) Perception and Embodied Cognition
Geography of Making and Craft (with a specific focus on home fermentation practices)
My other academic and personal interests:
Craft Beer, Localism, and Sense of Place
Urban Foodscape and Urban Forage (Natural history)
Literary Landscape: Local Chronicles and Narratives
Visual representation, Critical Cartography and Mapping Praxis
Translation Studies and Practice
Possibe Future Research:
Bibliomania: Bodily mapping of Bookstore configuaration / Second hand Bookstore Ethnography
Niche Communities and Spaces in City
In culmination, my voyage has been a relentless exploration of diverse domains, each endeavor harmonizing to form a comprehensive tapestry of learning and personal enrichment.
Interview (in Chinese, discussing books, bookstore, local identity and economy)
This mind map illustrates how my professional and personal interests and the yet-to-be-explored territories are intertwined together.
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image credit: J. Barkman
Check out more of my written works in Chinese of Urbanist Observation/Critique, Literature, and Translation (Studies) on WeChat Public Account 公众号:
Fremdegraphy 異方誌
