An American in Xining

From: Andrew Parsons
Series: Radio Waves
Length: 34:58

A story from the perspective of an American outsider who finds himself in the middle of a four hundred person riot in mainland China. Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: An American in Xining
From: Andrew Parsons

Shening_small Ben came to Xining, China to play keyboard in his friend's nightclub. Xining, about 800 miles from Bejing, is the last big city in China going westward and is bigger than one might think. Not used to things like foreigners, the changing face of China had expanded the city at a rapid rate in the years prior to Ben's arrival.

In many ways, Ben found himself in a struggle much bigger than himself in Xining. After confronting a man who spit at him outside a local KFC, Ben found himself locked in a car for an hour and forty minutes as hundreds of people punched, kicked, tipped and pummeled the car, even tearing off pieces. Ben recounts the decision making and thought process that he and three other friends went through during the riot.

More from Andrew Parsons

The Starting Over Stories (44:22)
From: Andrew Parsons

Stories that take different perspectives on starting over, which we've all wanted to do at times. It includes a three part story from Bob Richards about starting over in ...

Stories from the Red Light (37:22)
From: Andrew Parsons

The second of our "9 to 5 to Whenever" series, this episode features the story of a woman who, while in art school, decides to start stripping at a dive night club while ...

Steeplejacking with Bob Richards (31:57)
From: Andrew Parsons

The story of one man's part in the last remnants of free enterprise in the US during the summer of 1952 and some reflection on its role in that British man's very American life.

The Urban Chicken (39:36)
From: Andrew Parsons

Stories about the upward trend of urban chicken raising in America. We talk to several urban chicken owners about chicken love, chicken life and even the history of urban ...

The Phone Call (04:27)
From: Andrew Parsons

A Radio Wave (a short story under 10 minutes) about a phone call from family while secretly stripping in a dive night club and the revelations that it conjures. Taken from an ...

For Love of the Ghost Story, part 2 (33:45)
From: Andrew Parsons

The second part of our two part ghost stories series, this episode includes a story about a possession in Colombia, some strange visions and happenings and more ghost theory ...

The Cube, the Sphere and the Cylinder (04:54)
From: Andrew Parsons

A short piece about teaching Friedrich Hegel’s dialectical theory with 19th century kindergarten toys. Told by Dr. Eugene Provenzo of the University of Miami.

For Love of the Ghost Story, part 1 (33:59)
From: Andrew Parsons

Stories of people who claim to have had encounters with ghosts, some history of ghosts and ghost pop culture, and skeptical interpretations from a real ghost hunter.

Hot Dogs & Democracy (29:30)
From: Andrew Parsons

A story about discovering American democracy and civic participation while vending a hot dog stand for nine years in the 1970s.

From Balsa Wood to Steel (01:31)
From: Andrew Parsons

A bit of advice for the unemployed – use your free time to indulge your childhood passions. Producer Andrew Parsons recently found a former graphic designer at his new job on ...

Piece Description

Ben came to Xining, China to play keyboard in his friend's nightclub. Xining, about 800 miles from Bejing, is the last big city in China going westward and is bigger than one might think. Not used to things like foreigners, the changing face of China had expanded the city at a rapid rate in the years prior to Ben's arrival.

In many ways, Ben found himself in a struggle much bigger than himself in Xining. After confronting a man who spit at him outside a local KFC, Ben found himself locked in a car for an hour and forty minutes as hundreds of people punched, kicked, tipped and pummeled the car, even tearing off pieces. Ben recounts the decision making and thought process that he and three other friends went through during the riot.