Our 22nd Annual Chinese Teaching Conference ‘Evolving Classrooms – Adapting Methods of Mandarin Teaching to Keep Pace with Changing Contexts’ is coming up on 11th October 2025. We are happy to share that Xinran will be joining as a plenary speaker.
Xue Xinran (薛欣然) is a journalist, writer and founding member of the charity Mother’s Bridge of Love. She began hosting her own radio show in China, Words on the Night Breeze, in the late 1980s, before moving to London in 1997. Xinran often advises western media (Including BBC, CNN and Sky) about western relations with China, and makes frequent television and radio appearances.
She has received numerous accolades for her works which include The Good Women of China, Sky Burial, What the Chinese Don’t Eat, Miss Chopsticks, Buy me the Sky, Still Hot, and her latest publication The Book of Secrets, to name a few.
In 2004, Xinran set up ‘The Mothers’ Bridge of Love’ (MBL) with a group of volunteers to reach out to Chinese children in all corners of the world by creating a bridge of understanding between China and the West and between adoptive culture and birth culture. MBL ultimately wants to help bridge the huge poverty gap which still exists in many parts of China. Her work with MBL has been supporting MBL Adoptive Families in nearly twenty countries.
What was the inspiration and process for creating and curating the bilingual anthology, Haha! Britain?
Haha! Britain brings together 42 British and Chinese authors and 37 translators in a bilingual English–Chinese anthology of short essays, stories, and reflections about British life, culture, humour, and everyday experiences, presented with Chinese translations side by side. The aim is to create a cultural bridge between British and Chinese communities, to serve as an educational and fundraising project for MBL(Mother’s Bridge of Love), especially supporting children’s cultural and educational programmes and to provide young readers (especially British-born Chinese and adoptees) with a way to connect to both languages and cultures.
The idea first conceived in 2023 and the manuscript and editing completed in 2024, with voluntary efforts from writers, translators, and editors. On 15 March 2025 we officially launched the anthology at the British Library in London.
Social Impact:
– 100% a volunteer-driven project (authors, translators, editors, artists all contributed pro bono).
– Designed to fundraise for MBL’s children’s projects, including rural school libraries in China, adoption support, and bilingual cultural events.
– A true example of cross-cultural philanthropy through literature.
As the book is a collaborative effort, how important do you think it is for professionals across industries – translation, publishing, teaching – to connect and network at events hosted by The Mothers’ Bridge of Love as well as the IOE Annual Chinese Teaching Conference?
Why Cross-Industry Connections Matter
1. Translation
Translators are not only linguistic mediators but also cultural interpreters. By networking with teachers, publishers, and charity organisers, they can better understand the audiences their work will serve — children, adoptees, bilingual learners, general readers.
2. Publishing
Publishers bring the editorial expertise, design, and distribution networks that give projects like Haha! Britain life beyond a single launch. Their presence at MBL events or the IOE Chinese Teaching Conference allows them to see first-hand the educational and social impact of bilingual literature.
3. Teaching
Teachers are the ones who introduce books into classrooms and shape how young people engage with them. By working with authors, translators, and publishers at these events, they can adapt materials creatively and give direct feedback about what works for learners.
4. Charity & Cultural Bridge
MBL events uniquely link literature to philanthropy, showing how stories raise both cultural awareness and practical support for children. The IOE Annual Chinese Teaching Conference adds an academic and professional training dimension, ensuring that classroom practice benefits from these resources.
Your first book The Good Women of China (2002) focused on stories you encountered while hosting a radio show in China. At the core of your work you share lived experiences both connecting communities and showcasing voices which might traditionally be hidden away from a spotlight? Why do you think this is important?
When I was hosting my late-night radio programme in China, The Good Women of China was born not because I wanted to be a writer, but because I simply could not keep those voices locked away in my memory. Women from every corner of the country called me, often in whispers, often with tears, to share stories that had never been spoken aloud in public before.
For me, to pass on those voices was not just about writing a book. It was about human dignity. So many lives, especially women’s lives, were hidden behind walls of silence—silence shaped by politics, by poverty, by family duty, by shame. I felt if I did not write them down, if I did not let the world hear them, those lives would vanish as if they had never existed.
This is why I believe it is vital to connect communities through lived experience: because once you have heard another person’s truth, you can no longer pretend they are invisible. Literature, charity, teaching, translation—these are all ways of making sure that hidden voices travel beyond their original borders, and that they plant seeds of empathy in places they may never have dreamed of reaching.
Your work over the past two decades has been considered transformative, what advice would you give to those who want to develop their professional development, knowledge and confidence yet feel hesitant about putting forward their work?
Over the past twenty years, if there is one thing I have learned, it is that transformation does not happen in a straight line. When I first came to London, I cleaned houses before I dared to call myself a writer. Many times I doubted whether my voice, or the voices I carried, would matter. So my advice is this: begin with truth. Speak or write from the most honest part of yourself. Do not wait for perfection, because perfection is a wall, not a bridge. Instead, allow yourself to be vulnerable, and let that vulnerability become your strength.
Also, find community. Whether through teachers, colleagues, charities, or even a single friend, surround yourself with people who respect your work. Confidence is not something you create alone — it grows when you feel your voice is received with care.
Finally, remember that every small step — an article, a workshop, a conversation — can be transformative, not only for you, but for someone you may never meet. Do not measure your worth by scale or applause, but by the courage it takes to share what you have to give.
What are you looking forward to the most about attending the IOE Annual Chinese Teaching Conference?
What I look forward to most is the chance to listen and to learn. The IOE Annual Chinese Teaching Conference is not only about language teaching, but about how we pass on a whole world of memory, identity, and connection to the next generation.
For me, it is always deeply moving to meet teachers who carry such dedication in their everyday work. I hope to share my own experiences of bridging cultures, but even more, I hope to hear the stories from classrooms — how children respond, how families support them, and how Chinese language becomes not just a subject, but a bridge to understanding themselves and the wider world.
It is this spirit of exchange, of building cultural bridges together, that I am most looking forward to.
Many thanks Xinran!
We look forward to welcoming ticketholders to the conference on Saturday 11th October 2025 at the IOE. Book your conference tickets here.