Along the traces of the Austro-Chinese lifestyle, we shed light on the niche history of Vienna’s Chinese community, from migration to the West to culinary jumble. This project was commissioned by Vienna Design Week and invites visitors to join on a multi-stage tour of the 6th district.
一 Journey to the West
Emigration stories are core components of immigrated families. They tell of courage, hopes, of setting out into a new world, of finding one's way in a foreign culture and becoming part of society. Through interviews with 1st generation and 2nd generation Chinese immigrants, one not only gains an insight into their lives, but also how they define their identity between two cultures. Places in the memories of the Chinese community, form the stations for the first part of the tour.
“My father cooked extravagently serving exotic mussels, shark fins, foods imported from Taiwan. Our guests were highly exclusive: politicians, diplomats, delegations and state guests. Today, I cook and have made adaptations to the menu to suit the tongue of our Viennese guests. I enjoy working with ingredients I can find in Europe to create Chinese dishes.“
– Daniel Wu, owner of the first Chinese Restaurant in Vienna
“In the first Taiji lesson I taught, 7 students showed up and half of them left after a week, because it was too boring for them. In China you learn Taiji by practicing your breath but this was too slow and not enough action for my Austrian students. I had to adapt my teaching methods and started with movements, slowly more and more people got interested. ”
– Mr. Bai, founder and owner of the very first Taiji Studio in Vienna
“I am 100% Chinese and 100% Austrian.”
– Paul Feng 19, 2nd Generation Austrian Chinese
“I feel very strongly about with my identity. When I am with my Chinese friends we all switch to Chinese but of course, I know that I am very different from people who grew up and live in China. I try to educate myself about my culture as much as possible.”
– Weihao Chen 19, 2nd Generation Austrian Chinese
二 Culinary Hodgepodge
An essential part of Chinese culture is the culinary arts, the counterpart in Vienna: the Asian supermarkets and restaurants. They are a touch point for the 1st generation, 2nd generation and the connection point between Austrians and the Chinese community. At this section of the tour the visitors enter an Asian supermarket. To make it easier to orient themsevles among the shelfs, visitors are given a category to which they are supposed to find snacks e.g. red and squishy.
三 Picnic on a round blanket
Inspired by the Chinese philosophy and customs of eating, the previously purchased snacks are served on a round picnic blanket with dumplings we have prepared. The food is placed in the middle and eaten together - a fusion of two worlds and a taste of multicultural everyday life.
