To Live and Love in Beijing: The Story of Cala and Wanghao

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Uprooting your life and moving to Beijing is a massive, scary undertaking. For many expats, it requires leaving behind friends, family, and any other sense of comfort or familiarity they know. While the city can be fickle, some transplants not only fall in love with the place, but with the people too. And specifically, one person. In this series, we’ll be talking to folks who have found love in the Capital, and ask them what it was like to meet their soulmate halfway across the globe. If you’d like to share your love story, please email [e-mail]

What is your name and your partner’s name?

My name is Cala, and my husband’s is Wanghao.

Where are you from? Where is your partner from?

I’m from the UK, and he is from Jixi, in the northeast of China.

How long have you been together?

We have been together for three years, and married for one year.

Where and how did you meet?

We met on Wechat through the “people nearby” function.

What was your first date?

Our first date was just a simple one in Xiabu Xiabu. I love hotpot and from that day on we were together!

At what point did you realize, “this is the one for me”?

There wasn’t a specific point where I realized anything. We got on really well and from the first time we met, it was like meeting an old friend or someone I already knew, so we clicked very fast.

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What do you love about each other?

I don’t know what he loves about me, probably the fact I keep the house pretty clean (haha). I love his sense of humor and he’s an amazing dad to our daughter.

What can you tell us about falling in love in Beijing?

Falling in love in Beijing has its ups and downs. Because here life goes on pretty fast, our work life and family life is very busy so we don’t get as much time with each other as we’d like, and there’s the obvious culture clashes along the way, but we love it here and we love each other, so we’re happy!

Photos: Courtesy of Cala

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