In Episode 1 of Encounters, Lynn has just arrived in the village outside of Yangshuo where she has accepted a job teaching English in the local school. Lynn is introduced to Li Wen, the teacher she is replacing at the school. The two women quickly begin to develop a friendship. Li Wen explains that she is leaving Yangshuo to join her fiancé, Chen Feng, in Beijing.
In Beijing, Chen Feng and his best friend, Xiao Mao, work together at the company they founded. Friends since their first week in college, they are struggling to make their media production company successful in the competitive world of business in modern China.
After introducing Lynn to the students at the school, Li Wen takes her on a boat ride to see the beautiful local scenery in Yangshuo. As they talk, the two teachers discover that they have much in common, and as they become better acquainted they exchange phone numbers and personal information.
Chen Feng picks up his old friend, Alejandro, at the Beijing airport and is introduced to Alejandro’s new Chinese American wife, April. Taking advantage of Alejandro’s assignment to shoot photographs of China for a magazine, the newlyweds have decided to explore China together, and Beijing is their first stop in an ambitious itinerary. As the Episode ends, Chen Feng, Alejandro, and April enjoy each other’s company in a courtyard tea garden.
(Running time: 13.01 minutes )
