Feixue
Huangdu

Chinese student Feixue Huangdu has attracted over one million Chinese viewers and garnered attention from the likes of the BBC, Countryfile and The Independent for her popular live streaming of heritage tours. She has featured Trent Bridge Cricket Ground, Belton House in Lincolnshire and most popularly, Ruddington Village Museum.

What made you choose to study at NTU, and in the UK?

"I first found out about the course when I searched the website of CUC (Communication University of China) in Beijing. I did my research and found that the masters programme in Museum and Heritage Development at NTU had a good reputation. I was really interested in museums and the established cooperation between CUC and NTU made this very attractive to me."

What do you enjoy most about your course at NTU?

"In my two years of study, I've not only gained a great deal of academic knowledge about museums and heritage, but I have also been able to engage in curating two live exhibitions with the National Justice Museum in Nottingham and the Canalside Heritage Centre in Beeston. It really helped me put what I learned from the course into practice."

What do you think about the course staff – How do they support your learning and University experience?

"The course staff from both CUC and NTU have given me a great deal of help. Without their professional teaching, work, guidance, encouragement and assistance, I would not have had the opportunity to achieve my ambition of putting my learning into practice. Special thanks must go to my research supervisors Li Pan from CUC and Neville Stankley at NTU."

As an international student, what do you like about studying and living in Nottingham?

"Nottingham is a peaceful city with an environment friendly to Chinese students. I have found the people here all very kind and thoughtful. It is a very convenient place to study and live."

How have you found studying in the UK different to studying in China?

"Studying in China taught me a lot about the Chinese museum industry and the presentation of traditional Chinese culture, but also about the wealth of collections and treasures from all over the world. In the UK, I was given the chance to visit many heritage sites that represent British culture. The importance and protection of cultural heritage is deeply rooted in everyone's bones here."

Tell us about your popular webcasts of UK heritage sites and how they relate to your Masters research.

"I wanted to introduce Chinese audiences about British cultural heritage and get small British museums to think about communicating to an international audience. Many people living in China will never be able to visit the UK and even if they did, they would be unlikely to know about these small museums, let alone visit them. This is my main research project for my masters; I am experimenting with different approaches and methods to see what appeals to a Chinese audience as a piece of action research. I hope what I learn about the potential of new media will be useful to British museums. I have been very surprised at the interest from everyone and the generous support of staff and the museums to make it happen. To date, I have had over 1 million Chinese people view my live streams and I am now trying to improve the quality of the programmes and develop an evaluative approach to assess the impact on museum staff and volunteers."

"The BBC became interested and has transmitted my project around the world generating interest from many UK museums, museum conferences and world media outlets. I didn't expect to attract the attention of the BBC and other media outlets. Without the opportunity to come to the UK and study this course at NTU, none of this would have happened. An unexpected outcome of my desire to bring British heritage to a Chinese audience is that due to the interactive nature of live streaming I am also gently introducing the ancient and complex Chinese culture and attitudes to British museums and audiences around the world."