Jen Lin-Liu is a Beijing-based food and travel writer. She first came to China in 2000 as a Fulbright Scholar, and has written for Time Out Beijing, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, the Associated Press, and other publications. She is author of the forthcoming book Serve the People: A Stir-Fried Journey Through China (Harcourt, June 2008).

Sherisse Pham graduated from the University of British Columbia and then quickly took off to Asia to set up camp. After a year in Taiwan, she sailed across the straights and took up residence on the mainland. She has lived in China for three years and is currently a Beijing-based freelancer.