Before we fell in love with the house, there was just Ed and Selina. Before we got to Wuyuan, to Jiangxi province, to old houses, government offices, architects and baijiu-fuelled lunches… it was just us. And for us, this is the story of our life as much as it is a business plan.
Ed and Selina
Like all the best love stories, Ed and Selina met over a desk in the office of a market research consultancy in Shanghai. After a few drinks in the bar, you might even get to find out who was who’s boss… much more fun though is trying to figure out who is who’s boss now. A few nudges and winks into our working relationship, we went on a date. There is no finer place than Shanghai for romance – the river winding past the bund, the fast pace, colonial grandeur, food and cocktail bars all scream it, albeit with come to bed eyes. Come 2014, we were sharing a renovated old lane house together. Boxing day 2015, Ed proposed on Budleigh beach, (Devon, UK) and we were ready to start a life together.
What brought us here
Ed’s plan had always been to push further into deeper, darker China after a few years in cosmopolitan Shanghai. Selina’s had always been to live closer to her family (Jiangxi natives). We spent 2015-2016 in Nanchang doing just that: Ed learned mandarin at the local university and Selina helped her parents with the family business. With a return to the big smoke beckoning at the end of the year, we enjoyed a few holidays in the area, which brought us to Wuyuan – where a 300 year old wreck swept us off our feet. Having rented previously, this will be our first owned home. I can say that for the same money, rightmove.com tells me we could nearly get a studio bedsit in the outer reaches of zone 6 South East London. Its a hell of a starter home, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.