About
about the author
I grew up in a small village located in Austria’s Alpine foothills. It had beautiful mountain views and the sun setting behind the snow capped mountains of the Alps seen in the distance was soothing for the soul. I moved to cities across Austria in my teens and adulthood. My love for the Chinese language would take me to live in Kunming in the southwest, to Shenzhen right across the border from Hong Kong and to Siping, located in the middle of the Songliao Plain in China.
I studied Graphic Design from 2001-2006, and graduated from the University of Vienna with a Bachelor’s degree in Sinology in 2011.
My work experience includes working for an internationally acclaimed architect’s firm, working as an illustrator in an advertising agency and as a translator for Chinese, English, and German, among others.
The 2010s saw me start my blog China Elevator Stories, teach German at a Chinese university, and become the mother of two beautiful children. I moved back to Europe five years ago.
Ruth Silbermayr
about the blog
birth
This blog was born on November 11, 2012. I had moved to China a few months before that. The idea to start a blog presented itself after having had various conversations with Chinese strangers in Shenzhen, China's fourth largest city.
early childhood
I met my former husband, whom I married in 2013, in Shenzhen. The beginning of our relationship and my pregnancy with our first son forms the early childhood phase of my blog.
middle childhood
The years 2015-2017 mark another chapter of this blog. I had moved to Siping in Northeast China, living in close proximity to my former in-laws. I had also settled into being a mom, and became pregnant with my second son, born 2016.
late childhood
My blog was taken from the web in 2017 by my ex-husband without prior notice. It stayed offline until 2022.
early adolescence
The years 2022-2024 mark another chapter in my life and on my blog. I have moved back to Austria from China in 2019 and have divorced my ex-husband.