AROUND six years ago, Zhuowen (Summer) Zhang and Dr Jun Wen arrived in Australia to start the next stage of their lives together.
Both born in China, they had left home separately and moved to New Zealand to study, which was where they met. Jun was doing his Masters and PhD and Summer had recently graduated with an accounting degree and was looking for her first job. It was the first time either of them had left China.
After a decade in the land of the long white cloud, Jun had the opportunity for a job at Edith Cowan University in sunny Western Australia. While the pair gave up plenty to move here, Summer says in the end it was the right move and it “turned out to be quite good”.
It’s also, she admits, the life of a travelling academic to not stay anywhere for too long. Accounting was her family’s choice for Summer’s career, but once she moved into student services, Summer said she found her happy work space.
“I’m not an accounting person – I’m more a people person,” she says. “I enjoy helping and supporting other people. I was president of the Chinese Students Association at The University of Waikato and Jun was a member going to join us, which is how we met. That was how I discovered that my interest was in helping other people, especially international students settling in to university.
“First it was just part time helping people and then I moved into customer service and became a team leader for the international involvement team in charge of all the international student visas and associated work around them.”
Looking ahead, Summer says the pair felt their options were a little limited to remain in New Zealand. They married in 2017 and their family already included two dogs, Ben and Dudu. Though Summer had recently moved into a new job, the pair started looking at where the best place would be for the next move.
“We thought Australia would be a simple move – and good for the dogs because there was no quarantine. We decided it would be our destination and Jun got a job offer from Edith Cowan University in Perth. We packed up and arrived in time for a summer.”
The upside was that there wasn’t too much culture shock, even though the weather proved to be much hotter than they have ever experienced.
“I’m in a life of moving. I don’t find the space or the country home, more like the person and people who are around you. They help make it home. Before I married, home was my mum and relatives. Then my family became Jun and the kids. I am more attracted to people rather than a location.”
The couple had been living in Hamilton in New Zealand, the country’s 4th biggest city. It didn’t have a subway and they had to drive everywhere. Summer has been impressed and happy with Perth’s train system and the ability to walk to a lot of places locally.
“There are more options for buses and trains here, which is probably one of the biggest differences. In China we took busses everywhere.”
Once they arrived in Perth, it was time to start a family. Summer fell pregnant soon after they agreed the time was right. Daughter Musi is now five and son Qiaoyi – known locally as George – is two years old. She says two children is enough and being heavily pregnant during a Perth summer is not something she ever wants to repeat.
“Being pregnant and having a child in the middle of COVID was a lot of work. While Jun spent lots of time at home, he was very busy with his work. But we were lucky also because my mum came a month before I gave birth. Because of COVID she couldn’t leave and was here for a year,” Summer said.
“She was such a good help. I think it’s important for grandparents to be involved in their early childhood. Life is busy with two young children but you also have to cherish that.”
Even as they prepare to leave Perth and head to Macau in China, Summer says the thing she still likes the most about Perth are the people.
“We have made lots of good friends here and met lots of beautiful people. And that’s the most important thing. Jun has made some good friendships and become very good friends with some of his colleagues. I met a lot of Chinese mums through the local parent groups. Our kids have grown up together and that’s the most beautiful thing that can happen.
“I only thing I have been really disappointed about is that the summers are really hot, unlike New Zealand. When we first arrived, we didn’t have proper aircon. I was sweating really badly, especially when I was pregnant over summer and the baby was heavy. It made me so grumpy!”
Before Qiaoyi was born, the family ate out regularly and enjoyed Perth’s cafes and restaurants. Summer says it’s much harder to wrangle two kids, so instead they often eat outside in places where they can take the dogs. She and Jun have also loved the variety of food from around the world available in Perth, which has allowed them to taste and experiment.
Where they lived in New Zealand they had access to plenty of tasty seafood but not a lot of variety. Summer loves to walk the dogs and takes the opportunity to enjoy her suburb’s open spaces for the dogs to run and appreciates the parks and play equipment for the kids to clamber around on.
The addition of BBQs in the parks also offers additional meeting places with friend and outdoor eating. She says Perth parks are very different ones she grew up with in China, more designed for exercise rather than play.
“Even though they are still young, I think the kids have had more independence and free range here. The population in China is so big, everyone has to obey certain commonsense rules, otherwise it would be chaos,” Summer shared.
“Here no one cares and you can walk everywhere on the street. You can use the path or walk on the lawn. It’s just different. The kids go to school and daycare and the etiquette is different here, also the ratios between kids and adults are much lower.”
One of the reasons the family is moving to China is because while the kids prefer to speak English, like most of the kids around them, Summer and Jun want to make sure they grow up strongly bilingual and with an appreciation of their parents’ home country culture.
She also likes that Macau is a mix of Western and Chinese culture and attitude, including the international school her daughter will attend. Summer has been teaching Mandarin and is strongly aware of the benefits of being able to speak at least two languages.
Moving to Macau will expose the whole family to a city that speaks English, Mandarin, Cantonese and Portuguese. Cantonese is used in everyday life by more than 85% of the population.
“That’s what I am excited about, the kids being able to speak what they want. I’m excited for the language part of their education. There’ll also be a lot of competition for them. I grew up in the most populated city in China.
“Everyone had to work really hard and try their best. We call it the easy or the hard way. If you choose the hard way, then your life will become easier. I had no choice when I was young, I had to choose the hard way.
“Our kids don’t know what they want yet. As parents it’s more important for us to show them what they can choose from and give them options and get them to experience different things that they find interesting.
“Plus, we have to give them guidance, teach them to have self-discipline and manage their own lives well. For us, we will do what we can to support them for a better future and not force them to choose.
“We’re a different generation of Chinese – we’re not like our parents. That’s why we both wanted to study abroad. I didn’t get a chance to choose my major, but I got to choose my career.
“Jun didn’t like his major in China but he could study abroad and do a major he was really interested in. Now he’s doing a second major in medical science with a focus on dementia medical interventions through the lens of travel therapy. He’s really enjoying it and really enjoys the interdisciplinary approach.
“I’m really proud of Jun. He insists on doing the right thing. He’s a great role model for the kids. He’s an amazing father and husband. We don’t have much support here and he works a lot, but he’s still doing the best with his family.”
As a lecturer and researcher in Tourism and Hospitality Management at the School of Business and Law at Edith Cowan University, Jun’s work in Perth has included looking at the benefits of travelling with dementia and how the tourism industry can potentially support and encourage this sector of travellers.
He works within a larger research project funded by the European Commission Horizon. Led by 12 internationally renowned scientists in disciplines spanning neurology, public health, epidemiology, dementia, eHealth and lifestyle intervention, the project is ultimately working towards developing mobile phone applications for dementia prevention and treatment.
Leading his own team within the wider project, Jun has been exploring what travellers with dementia and their carers or travelling companions need, the benefits and what the tourism and hospitality industry can do for them.
As Macau’s economy continues to recover from COVID, there looks to be some focus on reducing the reliance on gambling and casino-based income and a growing interest in cultural and wellness-based tourism.
Jun suggests Macau is an ideal destination for health tourism, focusing on the wellbeing of the global aging population, including travellers with dementia.
His next chapter of work aims to position Macau as a leading global destination for that aging-ready tourism, enhancing wellbeing and quality of life in an aging society.
Jun is a big supporter and advocate for innovative research which crosses disciplines and believes it can encourage real world changes for how we can better live our lives.
Now the family – plus the dogs and a couple of stuffed quokkas and koalas – are off to Macau. It’s the first time Summer and Jun will be returning to live in the country they were born and the first time their children will live in China. Summer doesn’t know how long they will stay, but that’s all part of the journey.
What adventures await them?
Ara Jansen is a Perth-based, freelance print journalist with more than 35 years’ experience. A highly skilled interviewer, she writes for government and corporate clients as well as magazines and newspapers. She’s a regular commentator on radio, talking about music and culture thanks to a passion for music and decades working as a music editor and rock journalist. Born in Hong Kong and spending her childhood in the Philippines, she’s a Third Culture Kid who has lived in four countries.
Mrs. Zhuowen (Summer) Zhang previously served as the president of the Chinese Student Association at the University of Waikato in New Zealand. She also led the public tertiary international administration team at the Waikato Institute of Technology. Currently, Summer is a full-time muom, wife, and daughter, dedicated to looking after her family in Australia. She has a strong passion for promoting Chinese culture and language around the world.
Dr. Jun Wen is an Associate Professor in tourism and health sciences at the Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST), Macau, China (effective 13 January 2025). He has been working at the School of Business and Law, Edith Cowan University (ECU), Australia.
