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In the summer of 2014, Alessandro Ceschi, a 21-year-old Italian journalist from Padua, was at Frankfurt Airport with a plane ticket bound for Nanjing, China. Nervous yet excited, Alessandro was about to experience the East for the first time as a sports journalist covering the Youth Olympic Games. What he didn’t realize was that this trip would ignite a lifelong connection with China, its culture, and - most notably - its language.
A decade later, Alessandro has gone from a curious visitor to an Italian author writing in fluent Chinese. His newly published book, I Dreamed in Chinese, recounts his six years living and working in China, reflecting on his personal journey of language, identity, and cultural immersion.
Alessandro’s first visit to China was brief but transformative. He was struck by the warmth of the Olympic volunteers and the stories they shared during his reporting stint. “The conversations I had with them showed me that, despite cultural differences, people everywhere seek happiness and understanding,” he recalled. After returning to Rome, he described his time in China as a “vague dream of the distant East.”
That dream lingered. In 2016, Alessandro decided to move back to China to study film in Beijing. With a fresh start, he tackled the monumental challenge of learning Mandarin from scratch. His journey into the language was fueled by unconventional methods: watching all 97 episodes of the popular TV series Ode to Joy to pick up colloquial expressions and initially relying on translation apps to communicate with friends.
By 2022, Alessandro had not only achieved fluency in Chinese but also started dreaming in it. “Chinese entered my thoughts and even became a tool for self-expression,” he explained. Writing became an essential part of Alessandro’s life, helping him process his experiences and connect with others. He began sharing his thoughts on Douban, a Chinese social platform, under the pen name Ale. His posts resonated with readers, ultimately leading to the opportunity to publish his book.
In I Dreamed in Chinese, Alessandro shares vivid accounts of his time in China. The book captures the nuances of daily life, from working as an extra on film sets to spending Chinese New Year in a rural Sichuan village. He describes his transformation into what friends call “the most Chinese foreigner,” someone who uses Douban instead of Google to research movies, calls pedestrian overpasses “sky bridges,” and instinctively pours drinks for everyone at a dinner table.
Alessandro’s unique perspective as a foreigner deeply embedded in Chinese society sets his writing apart. Instead of focusing on macro-level topics like economic growth or political reform, Alessandro prioritizes personal stories and human connections. “I try to present the complexity of my relationship with this land,” he said in an interview. His writing captures the subtleties of life in Beijing, such as the timelessness of the city: “Beijing feels like a city that only exists in the present. Events from six months ago and yesterday blend into a fog of time.”
In addition to reflecting on his own experiences, Alessandro created a “Writing Club” in Shanghai to bring together people from diverse backgrounds. Members range from high school students to professionals, each connected by their love for writing. “It’s about quiet, professional, and equal exchange,” he noted, emphasizing how such dialogues expand personal horizons.
Living as a foreigner in China, however, wasn’t without its challenges. Alessandro often found himself the subject of curiosity. Questions like “How much is a house in Italy?” or “What currency do you use?” became recurring themes of conversation. Despite actively integrating into local society, his foreignness remained a defining characteristic.
Alessandro is acutely aware of how his work differs from other foreign content creators who use China as a “flow magnet” for online traffic. “I don’t aim to explain China to the world,” he stated. Instead, his focus remains on sharing personal experiences and exploring human emotions. His approach has been likened to a “documentary-style” of writing, where he avoids imposing opinions, allowing readers to draw their own interpretations.
Even after leaving China in 2023 to travel across Asia, Alessandro’s connection to the country remains strong. He spent time in Southeast Asia and Central Asia, including Nepal and Indonesia, before returning to China in May 2024. Speaking from his girlfriend’s hometown in Anhui, Alessandro shared his philosophy on maintaining freshness in life: “I move between countries to keep my curiosity alive.”
