Culture TED Talks

From hand puppetry to teaching boxes: Highlights from TED@Shanghai

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TED Talent Search: TED@Shanghai

This spring, TED headed on the road, visiting 14 cities across six continents on the hunt for untapped talent. The idea behind the sweeping search: to let you, the TED community, weigh in and vote on which speakers you’d like to see ascend the stage at TED2013. After holding one-night salons in Amsterdam, Bangalore, Doha, Johannesburg, London, Nairobi, New York, São Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, Tokyo, Tunis and Vancouver, we couldn’t help but notice that every city’s event had its own unique flavor. And so we’ve asked one audience member from each stop along the tour to share their memories.

Today, we asked audience member Jason Hsu of Taipei City, Taiwan, to tell us about his experience at TED@Shanghai, which took place on May 17.

Jason, what three adjectives would you use to describe the event?

Emotional, energetic and inspiring.

Who were the must-see speakers of the night, who you hope TED fans will watch on the TED Talent Search website?

Chen Xi Huang: The ancient art of hand puppetry
This is a great talk on Chinese puppetry, a forgotten form of art that deserves to be taken note of.

Zhou Yunpeng: Three gifts blindness brought me
This is a moving soul reflection. Plus, he sings about earthquake and disaster relief.

Liu Bolin: Painting myself invisible
Very fun. I like his way of presenting the influx of foreign products in China, as
well as the effects of rapid Westernization amid the economic growth.

Andrew Yu: “Teaching boxes” for rural classrooms
He presents a very interesting idea.

Lei Lei: The story of an artist through animation
This is fun talk on escaping China’s “animation factory.”

What was the best moment of the night? 

I was deeply touched by Chen Xi Huang’s performance. Having one focus for 80 years? That kind of dedication, craftsmanship and passion for doing something you love often gets lost in today’s fast-changing culture.

Which speaker from the night do you want to be your new best friend? 

Can I pick three? Andrew Yu, Zhou Yunpeng, Lei Lei.

TED Talent Search: TED@Shanghai

Stayed tuned for more audience impressions of TED Talent Search events, coming at you over the next month.