Daniel Kong had trained as a pharmacist before hanging up his white coat for the opportunity to travel the world as a cabin crew member.
But he lost his job when the pandemic hit, and despite having lived in Sydney all his life, he took a chance to experience something different.
Daniel, who calls himself an ABC or an Australian-born Chinese, was lured by an opportunity very few Chinese Australians have chosen — to put down roots in regional Australia.
The 2016 census found less than 8 per cent of people with Chinese ancestry had chosen to live outside of Australia's eight capital cities.
In comparison, more than 30 per cent of Australia's general population live in regional or rural Australia.
A 2019 Australia National University study also found more new migrants leave regional areas for major cities compared with 30 years ago.
Daniel went the opposite way, and ended up thousands of kilometres from the big city where he grew up.
"I found an online advertisement for a pharmacist on Christmas Island, I applied and got it," he said.
There are only 1,843 residents on Christmas Island and more than one-in-five have a Chinese ancestry, according to the census.
As a self-proclaimed adventurer, Daniel has enjoyed being able to soak up the sun, surf and quietly observe the famous annual migration of the local red crabs.
But the island lifestyle has also come at a cost. Finding fresh vegetables has been a challenge and can be very costly, Daniel said.
He also misses travelling and hopes to go back to seeing the rest of the world once the pandemic ends.
But in the meantime, he has found a new hobby of DJing at a local community radio station and has been winning over listeners with his catalogue of modern Cantonese hits.
"My fans are telling me they enjoy my choice of songs," he said.
For those like Daniel, regional Australia can be a chance for a different and exciting period of life.
But the peacefulness of towns, and their slower pace of living can also be attractive.
Chen: Feeling at home close to nature
Chen Shi vividly remembers her first impressions of Ballarat after moving from the north-east coast of China six years ago.
"It was very quiet and tranquil," she told the ABC.
Her hometown of Jinan, with a population of about 8.7 million people, seemed a world away from the old gold mining town of Ballarat, which has about 115,000 residents.
When Chen, a Chinese medicine doctor, relocated with her family to take care of her husband's elderly parents, she didn't expect to find a new place to call home.
Chen prefers the slower pace of life she has found in regional Australia.
She works five days a week in her Chinese medicine clinic and indulges in gardening and picnics with her family on her days off.
"I dislike the nightlife and hate shopping on the weekends, but love to drive to nature to feel what life is meant to be. I don't feel lonely or out of place," she said.
More than 150 years ago, Ballarat was a town buzzing with new wealth and gold, and Chinese miners counted for nearly 25 per cent of the local population.
These days, the Chinese community is made up of fewer than 10,000 people, according to a Chinese community leader Charles Zhang.
"It is very often a stranger who does not look Chinese at all … [telling me] proudly about their heritage after they find out I am from China," Chen said.
"Honestly, sometimes I think Ballarat is even too frantic for me. I'd like to move to an even quieter township to spend all my retirement life."
Chen's daughter, Wenny Wang, 23, recently moved back to Ballarat after the pandemic struck in March.
Wenny had been working in Melbourne after she completed her studies in fashion and styling at university in 2017.
"It is great to be closer to your family and bond again after many years of living away from home," she said.
To her surprise, she landed her dream job in social media marketing locally, just two months after arriving in Ballarat.
Wenjing: From China's Silicon Valley to swimming in the Kimberley
Wenjing Wang came to Australia in 2017 from the Chinese city of Shenzhen — also known as the Silicon Valley of China — on a working holiday visa.
"I have settled in Kununurra for over four years because my friend told me there were jobs here," she said.
Kununurra is a township of 5,000 residents in Western Australia's Kimberley region; about 3,000 kilometres north of Perth.
"There are only two seasons here — wet and dry seasons. It could reach above 40 degrees on some days," she said.
Wenjing said the small township has adequate essential services, and most importantly, people are always friendly, caring, and greet each other on the street.
She works as a pastry chef at the local pub and settled in with the help of her landlord and colleagues.
"I enjoy my calm and routine Buddhist-style life. I am no longer working 996 [working from 9:00am to 9:00pm six days a week] and successfully learnt swimming, which I have never managed to do in China."
Wenjing said she struggles to find necessary ingredients for her Chinese cooking, and there are very few Chinese local residents, but it hasn't bothered her.
She said she has no urge to work on a public holiday for double pay, and instead chooses to enjoy days off with friends exploring the outback.
However, she said she has plans to eventually live and explore other parts of Australia.
"I am planning to move to Brisbane, where I have some friends. They told me Brisbane is not too crowded as Sydney and Melbourne, and not too quiet like Kununurra," she said.
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2020-10-17 19:28:00Z
CBMiZmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIwLTEwLTE4L2luc2lkZS1jaGluZXNlLWNvbW11bml0aWVzLWluLXJ1cmFsLXJlZ2lvbmFsLWF1c3RyYWxpYS8xMjc0MTM0MtIBJ2h0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvYXJ0aWNsZS8xMjc0MTM0Mg
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