Junnan was born in the north of China, near North Korea, and raised in middle China where his family spoke Mandarin. The family later moved to Guangzhou, the largest coastal city in the south of China, where he lived for seven years and where people speak Cantonese. His maternal great grandmother, who was born near North Korea, is still alive.
He has been in Australia for 10 years, arriving in Sydney with his classmate and now-wife, Jean, to pursue their post-graduate studies. Together they have their one-year old daughter named Bethany. He loves the life in Australia and enjoys doing things he may not be able to do back home such as surfing and mountain biking.
It is customary for grandparents to play a major role in raising their grandchildren. Junnan’s mother is currently in Australia from China and will live with the family for one year. His wife’s mother did the same last year.
He is very strongly connected to his family history. He keeps in touch with friends and family back home using Chinese social media, WeChat.
In the middle of China they eat a lot of spicy food. A dish that Junnan remembers well is a Hot Pot, which is cooked using two litres of chilli oil.
It’s fascinating how Chinese children are named. Usually their first names are tied to a vision or goal of the parents as well as something that compliments the child. Junnan’s name translates to ‘Jun’ which means ‘handsome’ and Nan which means ‘South’ because his parents had a strong desire to move from the north of China to the south where there were more opportunities for prosperity.
View more of Fast Ed’s photo series by clicking here.
Related Posts
-
Metro South Health
-
Carly Day: Learning more about my cultural background
-
Phoebe – Playfair Visa and Migration Services
-
Pride in Diversity for Major Hotel Group – Accor Hotels
-
Emma – Blackbird PR
-
Petra – Playfair Visa and Migration Services
-
4 reasons to introduce A Taste of Harmony to your workplace
-
Fast Ed’s A Taste of Harmony Photo Series
-
What did you eat today?
-
City of Whittlesea
-
Arq Group
-
How a garden in a Brighton backyard is connecting cultures
-
What makes Australian food culture so diverse?
-
Sally – Blackbird PR
-
Samantha – Playfair Visa and Migration Services
-
How entrepreneurship enables economic independence for migrant women
-
A workplace champion for harmony – Department of Human Services
-
Who makes the best desserts?
-
Mckenzie – Yoghurt Digital
-
Tammy – Playfair Visa and Migration Services
-
ASF Audit’s first A Taste of Harmony celebration
-
Angel – Reach Out
-
Neha – Playfair Visa and Migration Services
-
Joe – Yoghurt Digital
-
Department of Local Government, Racing and Multicultural Affairs, QLD
-
Gilad – Yoghurt Digital
-
Why cultural diversity is an important workplace conversation
-
Dominique Rizzo: What I learnt about my cultural heritage
-
Melissa Leong – Learning more about my cultural heritage
-
What’s your favourite food?
-
Chung Jae Lee: My Korean heritage
-
Newmont
-
Sukaina – Playfair Visa and Migration Services
-
Cultural cuisines you may never have tried (and should!)
-
How does your heritage affect what you eat?
-
Maxine – Reach Out
-
Australian Taxation Office
-
Mitchell – Reach Out
-
A Taste of Harmony brings ‘Besties’ together – Best and Less
-
A Taste of Harmony at Harding Martin
-
What does food mean to you?
-
Australia Post – 10 year participant and major supporter
-
What is Australian cuisine?
-
Centre for Multicultural Youth
-
What’s in your pantry?
-
Krisztina – Reach Out
-
Matthew – Yoghurt Digital
-
Dave – Reach Out
-
Caring about cultural diversity – AutoCare Services
-
Tessa – Reach Out
-
How many cuisines have you eaten in your life?
-
William Ross
-
Flourish Australia leads by example, and wins a visit by Celebrity Chef, Fast Ed!
-
Kristin – Playfair Visa and Migration Services
-
Cristina – Playfair Visa and Migration Services
-
Ayca – Yoghurt Digital
-
Multiculturalism a key ingredient of Melbourne’s ‘happy cafe’
-
Why your workplace should celebrate A Taste of Harmony