From Shenzhen, Beijing, Hangzhou & Shanghai

I believe China is building the future.
I went there to see it.

Notes from the ground — what's actually happening in Chinese tech, business, and daily life.

Deep Dives

Stories I've Been Digging Into

Companies, founders, and ideas that fascinate me — and that I think explain why China matters right now.

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Origin Story

How Four Friends Built a $30 Billion Travel Empire (And Beat Expedia)

Most Westerners don't know Trip.com is Chinese. Founded in 1999 when only 2.1 million Chinese had internet, they invented the "click-and-brick" model — handing out flyers at airports while building tech. Now they're bigger than Booking.com.

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Manufacturing

They Slept in Bushes Outside Hong Kong Airport. Now They Own the World's Largest Factory.

Two brothers from New Zealand landed in China with $12,000 and no place to sleep. They survived on $1/day, slept under tables, and built a billion-dollar toy empire. Now they're building the largest factory on Earth — to reinvent housing.

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Electric Vehicles

How BYD Passed Tesla (And Why Western Automakers Should Be Worried)

In 2025, BYD sold 2.26 million EVs — beating Tesla by 600,000 units. The man who built it was an orphan chemist who couldn't afford textbooks. This is the story of how he disrupted the entire automotive industry.

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Event Guide

muShanghai 2026: 28 Days With 2,000 Builders in China's Tech Capital

Factory tours at DeepSeek and Unitree. AI, Biotech, Robotics, Gaming. $149. I help organize this. Here's everything you need to know.

The Complete Guide →
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Practical Guide

How to Enter China in 2026: The Complete Visa Guide

30 days visa-free for most Europeans. 240-hour transit for Americans. China just made it easier to visit than ever. Full breakdown of all 50+ countries and pro tips.

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Dominik and Harvey on a Chinese high-speed train

About Me

I'm Dominik (right). A medical doctor from Berlin who built companies in health and tech, then moved to China to see what's actually happening. A stranger on a train told me I was the first foreigner he'd ever met. That became the name.

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What I've Seen

Everything I thought I knew about China was 5 years out of date.

What I expected
"Made in China means cheap copies"
What I found
I watched BYD cars roll off the line in Shenzhen. They passed Tesla in global EV sales. DJI owns 70% of drones. The copies became the originals.
47% of global EVs
What I expected
"China is slowing down"
What I found
I've seen more construction in one week in Shenzhen than in a year in Berlin. This city went from fishing village to 17M people in 40 years. Their "slowdown" is still 5% GDP growth.
8x faster iteration
What I expected
"You can't do business as a foreigner"
What I found
I walked into a factory in Dongguan with no appointment and left with a prototype quote. WeChat Pay works for foreigners. The door is more open than I expected.
50+ countries visa-free
What I expected
"It's all government controlled"
What I found
I meet founders here who work harder than anyone I knew in Europe. The private sector is fiercely competitive. The hustle reminds me more of early Silicon Valley stories than anything I've seen in the West.
814 billionaires

Come along. I share what I find.

What do you want to know about China?

Tell me what you're curious about. I'll look into it.