Beimeng

Chinese companies are cutting down trees in Laos' rainforest and building large-scale durian plantations. They say replacing the original forest with trees of high economic value is a green initiative. It receives support from the Lao government. Read our story:

I was on @AmanpourCoPBS tonight, discussing the role of American tech firms in China’s surveillance state with @hari. Grateful for the chance to speak to @CNN and @PBS’s audience about our story. Watch the full interview here: youtu.be/nRG032PB7m0?si…

Feeling honored that the Chinese zouxian immigrant story that I worked on is a finalist to the Carlos Tejada Award for Excellence in Investigative Reporting (Chinese catogery). theinitium.com/article/202404… sopawards.com/the-sopa-award…

Chinese traders are transforming Laos' forests into durian plantations to meet China's soaring demand for the fruit, raising environmental concerns. @pulitzercenter #RainforestReporters @BeimengFu and @ZhaoyinFeng report for @initiumnews 👇  bit.ly/3BsypU6

老撾（台譯：寮國）南部波羅芬高原常年濃霧瀰漫，溫暖溼潤，布滿鬱鬱蔥蔥的山林和奔流而下的瀑布。這裏以出產高品質的咖啡知名，被譽為老撾的咖啡首都。但在不久的將來，在提到波羅芬高原的時候，人們可能會想起另外一種帶着濃烈氣味的農產品：榴蓮。 「現在（老撾種植榴蓮的）中資裏面，我們應該算是最大的。」眼前這個園子裏的榴蓮樹枝繁葉茂，已經長到約兩米高，排列整齊，林子一眼望不到盡頭。 六年前，中國榴蓮商人陶建陶建成立了名為「金果」的榴蓮種植公司，他是最早在老撾投資大規模榴蓮種植的中國商人之一。他稱，金果已在老撾種下5萬棵榴蓮樹，投資額過億人民幣。每天清晨他就開着四驅車，駛進波羅芬高原的層層迷霧當中。他要花一整天的時間，四處去視察他由12個園區組成的榴蓮帝國。 儘管老撾有適合種植榴蓮這一熱帶水果的氣候條件，但在近十年，這樣成本高的大型的榴蓮種植園區才逐漸出現，而到最近幾年，榴蓮產業則在老撾更如雨後春筍般涌現。據老撾官方媒體報道，僅老撾農商協會旗下的會員就已建設170個榴蓮種植基地，有一萬棵樹已掛果。通常，榴蓮樹需要五、六年才開始結果。該協會估計，五年後全國將有27萬棵掛果榴蓮樹。 端傳媒調研發現，中國商人是近年來老撾「榴蓮種植熱」背後的主力軍。他們看中這裏有大量未開發的熱帶雨林、低廉的土地和勞動力成本以及中國「一帶一路」政策帶來的諸多紅利，期盼能把老撾榴蓮銷往需求旺盛的中國，大賺一筆甜蜜的利潤。 但榴蓮產業在老撾才剛剛生根萌芽，前景仍在一片迷霧當中。中國商人的「榴蓮夢」是美夢抑或噩夢，對老撾人來說是福是禍，只有時間能給出答案。本篇報導得到了普利策中心 （@pulitzercenter）雨林報導基金的支持，歡迎點擊連結，閱讀發自老撾巴色的深度調查：theinitium.com/article/202412…

2023年，中国对榴莲进口贸易总量为142万吨;对比同年，美国对牛油果进口总量为127万吨。 从经济、农业、地缘政治、环境等方面，中国的榴莲热正在东南亚各国产生越来越大的影响力。 我希望长期观察、写作关于榴莲供应链的故事，记录更多鲜活个人。如您身处其中，请私信或电邮beimeng{at}pm{at}me.

过去几年中，我观察榴莲这种热带水果越来越进入中国人的日常生活，其中的故事却相对少被中英文媒体深入报道。今年夏天，我有机会与 @ZhaoyinFeng 去到老挝南部高原。我们发现，越来越多中国公司正在出海东南亚、进军榴莲产业链前端。老挝是其中最突出的一个例子。 theinitium.com/zh-hans/articl…

Locals enjoy the sunset on the bank of the Mekong River in Pakse, Laos, July 2024. (Photo by Beimeng Fu)

A durian craze is growing exponentially in Laos. Driven by China's insatiable appetite for the pungent fruit, durian plantations have sprouted up across the landlocked country. @BeimengFu and I traveled there to taste some Lao durians: asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Big-…

Money may not grow on trees, but Chinese investors are betting that they can convert Laotian durians into sweet profits. Read the full story here: s.nikkei.com/3zXiPiB

@KenKobayashi Thank you for beautifully putting together the visuals, Ken!

Laos durian dreams grow as plantations rise to feed China High-speed railway fuels investment in ‘king of fruits’ amid worries over forest loss (Video by Beimeng Fu and Zhaoyin Feng) #durian #laos asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Big-…

@NikkeiAsia @ZhaoyinFeng Pls read behind paywall the full story with a beautifully designed interactive layout. Thank you @jimhandc for the great edit, and everyone who gave us help, guidance, feedbacks, along the journey. Thank you @pulitzercenter for supporting this project!

@NikkeiAsia @ZhaoyinFeng We find out that despite having some of the last remaining intact tropical forests in mainland Southeast Asia, the country has leased thousands of hectares of forestland in its south to Chinese investors despite concerns of loss of biodiversity and impact to local communities.

Our first story about "Made in Laos" durian boom is out @NikkeiAsia! @ZhaoyinFeng & I spent a year tracing how Laos is looking toward durian—a pungent fruit native to the region, viral in China—as a key driver for future exports & reforestation efforts. asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Big-…

Glad my small contribution is included in the zouxian series nominated in this year's Excellent Journalism Award.

A great pleasure working with @joannachiu and @BeimengFu on this fun story. And it’s not every day that I get to file a story from Indonesia and Laos! #workingonvacation restofworld.org/2024/xiaohongs…

Not on all apps can ppl find hyper-specific tips when it comes to navigating foreign destinations, tourism XHS is truly something. Read this fun and insightful reportage by @ZhaoyinFeng. Photos by me.

I was excited as soon as @ZhaoyinFeng pitched this story, reported from Laos and Indonesia with @BeimengFu. It's such a fun piece about how the Xiaohongshu app has transformed the way Chinese tourists travel, while saving local businesses from collapse. restofworld.org/2024/xiaohongs…

As a China practitioner this is unbearable to witness for several reasons. First , Palestinian suffering during these past months is just horrific. We should have ended policy support to the perpetrators of that suffering