Bridge Builders:
Stuart Wiggin

Names can seem meaningless. "What's in a name?" asks Shakespeare's doomed lover Juliet: "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Centuries later, distinguished linguist Noam Chomsky would expand the thought into the science of semiotics, differentiating between the signifier (in this case the word 'rose') and the signified (a pleasingly aromatic flower). 

Sometimes, though, names are extremely apt. Take Stuart Wiggin – or as he is known to the Chinese, Si Tu Jian Guo (司徒建国). Jian Guo literally means 'building the country' – and that is what this affable young man does: Thousands of miles from his British birthplace, he travels around China making videos to build a picture of his adopted homeland, for an ever-growing audience's education and entertainment. 

But how did Wiggin find himself transplanted from his middle-England roots into a whole different culture on the other side of the planet?

Wiggin is grateful for having the chance to work his way through the media, from unseen backroom editor to popular presenter. He acknowledges that the early jobs "got me to where I am today, in front of the camera," and has enjoyed the variety of his career so far.

There's an old Chinese saying that "changes happen faster than plans," and Wiggin's flightpath proves it. "More and more opportunities became available, and it was just more and more interesting," he says. "The work I'm able to do now all around China, it's a dream to be able to travel around and do what I do."

Change is also a keyword in China, a fact not lost on the vlogger. "I live in Beijing and the skyline changes constantly," he says. "Every city changes, but in China, the scale of that change is just a little bit faster. The use of technology in the cities really has changed everyone's life."

Nor is it just urban life undergoing improvement. "There's a huge amount of change in the countryside as well, which not everyone gets to see. I've been lucky enough to see it because I get to travel around."

Change also informs his content selection. Many vloggers see the world as a mere backdrop to their own stardom, but Wiggin wants to point his camera the other way: "I don't really vlog my life, I try to film the stories of the people where I visit and try to show how their lives have changed."

He acknowledges that he has fascinating content to film – "People are more and more interested in learning about China" – but the form counts, too. "I think people are attracted because my videos are authentic – we don't use clickbait, we don't use divisive topics to garner views. We just try to film China as it is and interact with local people in a polite way – as everyone should."

Being polite and interested helps him to mix easily, right across the country. 

"Wherever I go in China, regardless of my nationality and other people's nationality, we've always got more in common than we do have differences," he says.

As an example, he recalls a recent trip to Inner Mongolia, interviewing herders from various different ethnic groups. 

"Our lives are pretty different. I sit in front of a computer all day editing a video and then travel around, and then they work in the grasslands herding – that's two totally different lives," he admits. "But we went for dinner and we ended up speaking the whole night about football. This conversation could be taking place in Britain. 

"That's a very specific example about football, but wherever I go in China, I'm always going to be able to relate or talk to people and find out that we've got more in common than we do have differences."

And everyone with an eye for a picture – which, in the Instagram age, is just about everyone alive – can't help but be impressed by the backdrop. 

"China as a country has got every kind of scenery imaginable: desert, snow-capped mountains, mega-cities, rainforests, tropical beaches – everything," he enthuses. "It's just an incredible place to travel. I hope foreign tourists come and experience China, because I think it's the most amazing country in the world to travel around."

Wiggin's mission to bring the delights of China to a wider audience includes a very personal audience – and one which has gone from watching to participating: his parents. 

"A few years ago I went back to Britain and took some presents," he explains. "I decided to film with them, because I know that my parents are quite funny, so I thought they'd be good on camera. And it turned out that my fans thought so, too. Then my fans became their fans…"

That's how it came about that a retired bus driver and a former doctor's surgery office worker became internet favorites in China: because they were Stuart's dad Bob and mum Heather. Although that's not how they're widely known…

"To my Chinese friends, I'm known as Han Meimei," says Heather, while Bob is better known as Bobu. The nicknames were crowd-sourced.

"I asked my fans – their fans – to choose their Chinese names and they gave a big list of suggestions," says Stuart. "My dad chose a homonym of his name, and my mum chose hers." For Chinese students learning English, Han Meimei is a familiar character from textbooks – "the equivalent of Janet and John in Britain," explains Stuart.

It's a far cry from what Bob and Heather expected when their son first flew east. 

"When he went to China, he'd just finished university," says Heather. "It was a surprise that he was going to go so far, and I did think that it might just be a gap year and he'd be back. But he loved it so much, that was it."

The parents fully backed Stuart's decision to stay, says Bob. "Our main concern for Stuart is always 'Is he happy?' And he's very happy in China. So if Stuart's happy, we're happy for him."

They got even happier after sampling his new life for themselves. 

Visiting China

"Stu wanted us to go over and visit," says Heather. "We went in 2013 for a couple of weeks and we were blown away. The last time that we went over was in 2019 – we stayed for three weeks and we went everywhere."

"They loved China when they came, and they would love to come again," smiles Stuart. "Being able to come here and experience China for yourself is really important in terms of forming an opinion of the country."

"What left the most impression on me is the rich culture," says Bob. "There are far more festivals celebrated in China than in Britain, and there's a lot of other differences as well. We were amazed when we went into a local park and there were elderly people, the same age as us, exercising. You don't see that in Britain…"

"I loved the historical buildings," recalls Heather. "We went round the Forbidden City and we were overwhelmed by that – the Temple of Heaven. The contrast of the historical buildings and the modern buildings, that was the biggest eye-opener for me." Bob agrees: "The new technologically-advanced China juxtaposed with the ancient China – I was blown away by that."

Bob had long been a fan of Chinese food back in Britain. "But Chinese food here is…," he begins, before Heather completes his sentence for him: "Nothing like it."

Other surprises included scale. "I didn't expect China to be so vast," admits Heather. "Beijing itself, I didn't realize how big it was. The traffic, the bikes…" 

By the time they returned in 2019 they knew what to expect – but it had changed again. "The infrastructure seems to have advanced between 2013 and 2019," notes Bob. "I mean, when we first went, it exceeded my expectations, and Heather's. And in 2019, it had gone a step further – it was amazing. We were really impressed, we loved it."

While an increasing number of Chinese viewers love Heather and Bob, they in turn are their son's biggest fans.

"We watch every single one of Stuart's videos," says Bob. "They're very informative, showing Chinese culture to the world. And we're very proud of him for doing that."

"I definitely recommend anyone to watch Stuart's videos because it's a window on the world of China," says Heather. "It does show areas that most people have never seen before. It includes different cultures and it includes different aspects of work, how people live, how they get on together."

It has been an educational experience for the couple. "I've learnt that China is a very advanced, technologically advanced culture with an ancient culture as well," says Bob. "And I also know that in the last 40 years, 800 million Chinese have been lifted out of poverty. I think people should know about that and get to know China better, because it's a wonderful country."

As mums are entitled to, Heather occasionally worries about Stuart. "Some of his humor isn't always to our taste, and I worry about him doing dangerous things, he's had one or two sort of places that he's gone to that have been – I'm thinking 'You shouldn't be doing that, Stuart…'"

However, she's glad to see the video evidence that her son is in safe hands. "I always get the impression that he's looked after," she says. "As a mum, that really is a lovely feeling – that wherever he goes, everybody welcomes him, they look after him. And I hope they feel that he gives back to them via the videos what he's trying to achieve."

"I'm extremely proud of what Stuart's doing in China," says Bob. "As far as I'm concerned, he's an ambassador and is an example of how everyone, every British person should be able to get along when they're abroad, anywhere."

"The best way to overcome obstacles is to let people see what's going on in each country," says Stuart. "Right now it's not that easy because of the pandemic; hopefully that will loosen up a bit in the future and people will be able to come here."

His mum pinpoints a specific area of potential development. "I think one thing we could do to improve understanding between Chinese and British people is if more students from China came to Britain and vice versa, English students went to China," she says. "Because they're the future – they're the ones who have got to interact with each other. If you go to a country and you actually show that you're willing to learn the language, you're halfway there."

Her son is an example, having learnt to speak Chinese since arriving in the country; those who follow him may have a head-start. "I know that a lot more students in the UK are learning Chinese now," he says. "I didn't have the opportunity when I was at high school, whereas now far more, far more children do. I think that's a great way to put in a good foundation for better understanding in the future."

"Building bridges between Chinese and British cultures is very important," says Heather. "It's how we're going to get on in the future. We need to be friends. We need to get on."

Bob couldn't agree more. "Peaceful coexistence – that's what we need to get on," he says. "Look at the world today: there's so much suffering and war. People need to interact and just get on, be friends. We all want the same thing, basically – we want a peaceful, happy life."

Stuart, meanwhile, sees the potential fruitful benefits of working together: the Chinese 'win-win' ethos of mutual advantage. "If we can build bridges, we can learn more from one another," he says. "If we can learn more from one another, there's a greater opportunity for cooperation. And if there's more cooperation, that can only lead to good things for both sides."

Into the future

Anyone wishing to witness the future first might be advised to watch China. Recalling her 2019 trip there, Heather cites one commonplace that seemed unusual then, but now seems standard.

"Last time we went to China, we couldn't get over how you don't use cash and everything's on your phone," she says. "And now that's starting to happen here. It just shows you that it's such an advanced society – we really are playing catch-up."

Stuart hopes that the future we're all hurtling toward comes with permanent residence in his newfound home. "I'd like to be able to apply for a green card – that's my Chinese Dream, I guess," he says. "My plan is to stay and hopefully continue doing what I'm doing – and try to in a small way help improve the understanding between both countries."

He acknowledges that building bridges may not be easy. 

"There will always be misunderstandings," he says. "I don't know what the solution is. I hope that what I do is part of that solution – I hope it contributes in a positive way. 

"And I hope that in the future Britain and China can have more exchanges, because the more tourists come here, the more students come here, the more cultural exchanges that take place – that can only be a good thing. 

"That's probably one of the best ways to break down misunderstandings – and also, asking people to just have an open mind. We're all going to have biases, but we can understand that biases aren't always true, and to view another side of the story."