Finding their own answers: How foreign youth are living and growing in China

Back in his hometown in the United States, Connor Burke reflected on his life-changing decision: leaving behind his job in the real estate industry and starting over in China.

At 30, the young American returned to the classroom as a first-year medical student, thousands of miles from home.

His story is captured in the documentary The Moon Is Yours, which follows the real-life experiences of six international students from Russia, Croatia, Zimbabwe, Italy, Thailand and the United States as they study, work and grow in Shanghai.

Released in Chinese cinemas during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday period, the film invites audiences to step into the everyday lives and personal stories of these young people as they find their place in China and explore what comes next.

From visiting China to making it part of life

Nowadays, more young people from around the world are seeking to gain a deeper understanding of China through longer stays and personal interactions.

For them, coming to China is no longer simply about visiting a foreign country or pursuing a degree. Through classrooms, friendships, relationships and career choices, China has become a place where they begin a new chapter of their lives and even a factor in the decisions they make about their future.

That is where Croatian student Filip Komsic finds himself. As he nears graduation from Fudan University's School of Economics, the documentary follows him through the less glamorous but deeply personal process of preparing for the next stage of life – from having a suit tailored for job interviews to sending out applications and waiting for responses.

Filip hopes to find a place in China's financial sector, and the film captures interviews, setbacks and even moments of frustration as he navigates a new professional environment and continues learning Chinese.

His experience reflects how, for some young foreigners, life in China becomes a path of exploring different possibilities, pursuing their aspirations and growing along the way.

From seeing China to living in it

But a sense of belonging is not built through career choices alone. Often, it takes shape in the small, everyday connections that make an unfamiliar place feel like home.

Pascal Kwangwari, a Zimbabwean student studying medicine at Fudan, offers one such story. Studying medicine in a third language is already a challenge. The film captures the pressure of academic work, including moments when he struggles in research meetings and is challenged by his supervisor over problems with his data. Behind the lighter moments are periods of self-doubt as he tries to keep up with the demands of study while adapting to a different language and culture.

For Russian medical student Vladimir Melnikov, the question of making China home is even more personal. As he builds a career and starts a family in Shanghai, the birth of his daughter marks a new chapter in his life.

Other students are also using their time in China to explore questions that go beyond nationality. Thai student Phra Udom Siritientong reflects on family, identity and the future, while Italian doctoral student Raimonda navigates her own questions about youth and the direction of her life.

What brings these young people closer to China is not simply observing the country from the outside, but becoming part of the life unfolding around them. In this process, China is no longer simply a place where they study or a possibility for their future, but a society they are part of.

From seeing each other to understanding each other

And as these young people become more deeply involved in life in China, another layer of the story comes into view: the exchange is not one-way. The people behind the cameras are also changing through the process of watching, following and getting to know them.

The documentary was created with the participation of more than 100 undergraduate and graduate students from the School of Journalism at Fudan University. Over three years of production, student production teams took turns following the protagonists, staying with them through classes, research, internships, job searches, relationships and major life decisions. The project eventually accumulated more than 1,200 hours of footage.

That long-term approach matters. Instead of presenting international students through a series of snapshots, the film allows Chinese students behind the camera to see the protagonists as they are – sometimes confident, sometimes confused, sometimes struggling and sometimes simply getting on with ordinary life.

In that sense, the story is also about Chinese and international students discovering one another. Through years of sustained interaction, labels such as "foreigners" and "Chinese" gradually give way to something more familiar: classmates, friends, teammates and people facing many of the same questions about study, work, relationships and the future.

That is also what gives the film its broader meaning. On this shared stretch of land, each person comes with a different story. But as the film's title suggests, the moon is yours wherever you come from. China becomes the place where these young people encounter one another, grow through what they experience and find their own answers.