Ian is from San Diego, California, and in 2014 he took a trip to China with his best friend that was supposed to last a couple of months. He's still here. Eleven years later, he's married to a Chinese woman, has a young daughter, owns his apartment in Dandong (a city on the North Korean border where he can see North Korea from his living room), just bought a BYD SUV that gets close to 1,000 miles on a tank, and is going full-time as a content creator next month.

The catch: he actually did leave. From 2020 to 2024, Ian was back in California with his family. They were unhappy. So they came back to China — and Ian says he's never moving back to the US again.

In this episode, Ian shares what it's actually like to live on the edge of the Hermit Kingdom — the view of the Yalu River from his 7th-floor window, why Dandong is world-famous for Chinese BBQ, what changed about China between his first stint (2014–2019) and his return (2024–present), and why he calls China "the safest place I've ever been." He also breaks down what it actually takes to teach English in China legally, why the old Hong Kong visa-run trick doesn't work anymore, and how he bought a midsize SUV for less than $15,000 with three years of insurance bundled in.

Chapters:

00:00 — Welcome to The MIC00:15 — From San Diego: school, hotels, and the friend who pitched China00:31 — The 2014 trip that became a decade01:02 — Crossing from Hong Kong into Shenzhen02:53 — His Taiwanese uncle's warning: "Don't be too outspoken"04:00 — How "a few months" became permanent04:57 — The Hong Kong border runs and why they don't work anymore06:27 — What it takes to be an English teacher in China today08:41 — Leaving in 2020, returning with his family in 202409:22 — How China has actually changed since 201410:32 — The 200-foreigner community in Longgang, Shenzhen12:09 — 30-cent breakfasts and how Chinese cost-of-living really works14:22 — Living in Dandong on the North Korean border15:17 — Why he thinks China is the safest country in the world16:43 — Cops in China vs. cops in America17:56 — Why he's going full-time content after July18:11 — Why Dandong is world-famous for Chinese BBQ19:43 — Cooking Mexican food in a small Chinese city22:32 — Buying his BYD SUV for 100,000 RMB ($15,000)26:00 — 1,000 miles on a tank, one fill-up in six weeks28:28 — Owning property in China and the "70-year lease" myth29:55 — Meeting his wife at a late-night Shenzhen street barbecue30:30 — How his wife learned perfect English from movies31:36 — What he misses from China when he's in the US32:20 — The one thing he still misses about America: air quality34:59 — "China for life" — and what would have to change

Follow Ian:🌐 Instagram: @ianinchina📺 YouTube: @ianinchina🎵 TikTok: @ianinchina🇨🇳 Xiaohongshu: @ianinchina🎬 Douyin: @ianinchina💬 WeChat: ianindandong

He also helps people get teaching jobs in China — DM him on any platform if you're interested.

🎧 Watch the full video version on YouTube: search "The MIC Podcast" on the CollinXChina channel.

Follow The MIC on TikTok, Instagram & YouTube: @themadeinchinapodcast

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New episodes every Wednesday.

Peidra is a Jamaican-Canadian media producer who's worked Disney red carpets, the World Cup, and represented Jamaica at the International Diabetes Federation's global conferences. She'd been to Italy, the Vatican, and a dozen other countries — but she'd had zero interest in visiting China. Until one of my videos popped up on her TikTok in August.

By January she'd booked her ticket. The night she landed in Hangzhou — before meeting me in person, before doing anything else — she walked the city alone at 3am specifically to fact-check whether the China she'd been seeing on social media was real. She came back with her own answer, and changed her parents' minds about a country they'd avoided for two decades.

In this episode, Peidra shares what it's actually like to be a Black Jamaican woman traveling solo in China for the first time — getting her braids touched at tourist sites, hotel staff she's still friends with on WeChat months later, leaving her camera unattended and finding it untouched, and convincing her dad (who's now flying to Asia in 6 days) to see China for himself.

Chapters:

00:00 — Welcome: the 3AM walk in Hangzhou to fact-check the videos01:17 — Growing up in Jamaica, moving to Toronto02:48 — Race car driver dad and the family auto business03:55 — Film school in Toronto during COVID05:20 — Type 1 diabetic and representing Jamaica internationally06:38 — Italy and the Vatican: the Easter Airbnb scam08:25 — Discovering my videos in August10:23 — Booking the ticket and the Jamaican visa process12:39 — Her parents' fears: kidnapping and organ harvesting15:48 — Packing for Jamaica weather, landing in cold Hangzhou19:27 — Meeting me in public for the first time20:15 — Being a Black woman in China — first impressions21:03 — Trying congee at my house23:23 — City life vs. tourist sites as a visible foreigner25:20 — Braids, hair touching, and the kids who couldn't stop staring26:50 — Her advice for Black women considering a China trip28:50 — Leaving her camera and bags unattended — nothing taken30:02 — Hangzhou's Song Dynasty design and cherry blossoms34:02 — Why she calls China's efficiency unmatched35:50 — Daily life: Alipay, Taobao, ordering in English36:36 — Robot food delivery to her hotel room40:00 — What Westerners won't believe until they come42:05 — The hotel staff she's still WeChat friends with44:43 — Coming home and the conversation with her parents46:00 — Her dad booking his own Asia trip six days later48:01 — When she's coming back — and bringing her mom

Follow Peidra:🌐 Instagram: @peidrajames🎵 TikTok: @this_is_peidra

🎧 Watch the full video version on YouTube: search "The MIC Podcast" on the CollinXChina channel.

Follow The MIC on TikTok, Instagram & YouTube: @themadeinchinapodcast

If this episode resonated, please tap the ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in Spotify and leave a quick review — it's the single biggest thing that helps new listeners find the show.

New episodes every Wednesday.

Evan Kail — known online as Pawn Man — has roughly 15 million followers across his platforms (4.7M on Douyin alone), was on track to be a screenwriter before life detoured him into a Minnesota gold and silver shop, and accidentally became one of the most recognized American voices in China after a single TikTok in 2022 changed everything.

In August of that year, Evan received a leather-bound book of WWII photographs from a viewer whose father had passed away. He believed it contained images from the Nanjing Massacre. He posted a TikTok at 7pm, went out to a bar, and came home to 6 million views. Within weeks he was getting death threats, the FBI was watching his store, his apartment had been broken into, and he'd bought body armor. He donated the book to the Chinese government in a formal ceremony on November 16, refused payment, and was given a diplomatic gift in return — a porcelain vase he later learned is called the "Magic Lamp," of which he is the only living person to own one. He's been offered seven figures for it and turned the offer down.

Three years later, he's based in Tianjin, has been compared to Henry Kissinger by Chinese media, and is on a self-described private-citizen mission to repair US–China relations. He came on The MIC to tell the full story — unfiltered.

Chapters:

00:00 — Cold open: 15 million followers and Trump's in Beijing01:50 — Born in Edina, MN: "cake eaters" and the 2008 crash03:00 — A high school film festival win and the screenwriter dream03:57 — Majoring in Japanese studies at the University of Minnesota05:49 — Graduating broke and grinding through his 20s07:33 — April 2019: dad introduces him to the old man's gold shop09:03 — The Pawn Stars Vegas trip that became his aha moment16:32 — What "Pawn Man" actually does17:15 — August 2022: the leather book of WWII photographs arrives20:59 — The history Americans don't know about Japan, China, and Nanjing25:48 — Posting the TikTok at 7pm and going out for drinks26:43 — Coming home to 6 million views28:18 — Adam Conover's video and how it dialed up the danger30:00 — Death threats, FBI surveillance, and the apartment break-in31:19 — Body armor, shutting the store down, and a mental breakdown34:23 — Paying $1,000 to legally own the book before donating34:50 — November 16: the donation ceremony with two Chinese ambassadors37:44 — The US State Department call telling him to cancel44:11 — The diplomatic gift from the Consul General45:31 — Finding out it's the Magic Lamp — and what that means46:13 — Turning down a million-dollar offer for the vase47:48 — First trip to China: 30 cops marching him through Beijing airport49:50 — 100 journalists waiting, 10 million on the live stream50:57 — Being compared to Henry Kissinger52:54 — Learning Mandarin at 36 with ADHD1:00:25 — His recommended first trip to China for Americans1:04:00 — Three screenplays in five months and back to film1:09:13 — Why the person behind the deeds is what matters

Follow Evan:🌐 TikTok / Instagram / YouTube / Facebook: @pawn.man and @evankail📚 Books on Amazon: Wolf in the Jungle, Wolf at the Gate (Nazi hunter series), plus a crime thriller and a novella collection releasing summer 2026

🎧 Watch the full video version on YouTube: search "The MIC Podcast" on the CollinXChina channel.

Follow The MIC on TikTok, Instagram & YouTube: @themadeinchinapodcast

If this episode resonated, please tap the ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in Spotify and leave a quick review — it's the single biggest thing that helps new listeners find the show.

New episodes every Wednesday.