About
1981 How It Started // 2018 Beijing // 2024 Norway
Hello! My name is John Salvino and I live and work in Beijing. I am originally from Toronto but I moved here in January of 2018 to start a new job. Living in China has been an amazing experience for me!
For many years I worked in corporate IT, but eventually I wanted to do something more creative, so in 2015 I left my corporate job and started doing freelance web development, with the intention of travelling more often. For many years I had wanted to really experience China, not just to see it for a couple of week's vacation, so in 2017 I decided that working here would be the best way to spend a long time here and really immerse myself in the language and culture.
It was the best decision I could have made!
A Quick China Career Timeline
The first couple of years I was here, I was a Social Media Specialist at a children's education company, so I was able to travel around China and do photography. As you will see from my website, travel and photography are two of my favourite things.
After that, I taught English to adults for a few years at a private English learning institution.
Next, since the fall of 2023, I have been teaching English at a university here in Beijing.
What You'll Find Here
This blog is a mix of the things I care most about: photography, music, travel, and life in China, with a little bit of Stoicism.
Photography
I mainly started this blog to help share my love of photography.
If you look through my photos, you’ll see that I mostly like shooting cities and architecture, with a little bit of landscape mixed in. Living in Asia is amazing for all three types!
But no matter what type of photo I take, I always try to show the world in a different way, from a different perspective.
Oh, and if you are curious about what camera brand I use...well, as of last summer I use Fuji.
Here you can read my articles about photography.
Music
I’ve loved music ever since I was a child, firstly hearing my parents listening to 8-tracks on their awesome stereo, then using my allowance to purchase 45s, then albums, cassettes, CDs, MP3s, and now to streaming. My music tastes vary so much, there’s no point in even listing them here!
As any music fan will tell you, there’s just nothing like listening to an incredible song. I’m often a different person when I’m listening to a great song. The right song can make me feel more confident about myself. Act in ways I might not normally act.
On this blog I like to share my thoughts about how music makes me feel, why I like certain songs or bands, and how I interpret the music and/or lyrics. It isn’t intended to be about academic reviews or anything, just straight up personal thoughts about the music.
You will find a few different types of posts. Some are longer form write-ups about songs that have particular meaning to me. Others are short write-ups where I feel like mentioning a song that I really like, just to give some exposure to bands or songs you may not have known about. And sometimes I just write about general music-related topics, that may only have meaning to me personally.
Here you can read my articles about music.
Life
Moving to China definitely changed my life, so I recently decided that in addition to photography and music, I would start sharing some more general thoughts about life and living here in China. I may also share some reflections about Stoicism.
Get In Touch
You can contact me directly through my Contact page, or through any of my various social media channels.
I love sharing photos on Glass and Instagram, and you can also catch me on Threads or Bluesky.
Some random shots from the last couple of years
John Salvino
John Salvino