Jerry Li

Haolin Li is a PhD candidate in Anthropology and Sociology at SOAS, University of London. His research focuses on the global circulation of Chinese tea, with a particular interest in how Chinese tea merchants participate in cultural diplomacy, construct taste systems, and engage in transnational networks of trade and meaning.  

Combining ethnographic fieldwork in both London and Enshi (Hubei Province, China), Haolin examines how local tea industries modernise and globalise in response to national policy and international demand. He explores the role of state branding, diaspora entrepreneurship, and sensory marketing in shaping how Chinese tea is produced, represented, and consumed abroad.  Haolin’s research interests also extend to the social and cultural transformations of rural China. He is particularly drawn to how rural communities respond to development policies, shifting economic pressures, and changing notions of heritage and identity. His work reflects a broader curiosity about how everyday life in rural areas is shaped by both state intervention and global influences, and how local actors navigate these ongoing changes.

• Food,
• Material culture, 
• Migration, Cultural heritage, 
• Rural china