As this week marks China’s Golden Week, in honor of the country’s Labor Day celebrations, it is one of the first holidays locals will be able to travel and reunite with loved ones with lessened restrictions.

The Spice Route was a network of trade routes that connected the East and West for centuries. And some of its traveling condiments became so sought after that they could establish and even destroy empires.

Global health envoy Bernhard schwartländer first moved to China before the Beijing Olympics. He's living there again for the third time in some 15 years with his wife Andrea. He talked to our host James Chau about the experience of living in Beijing.