'Coming here was a much-needed break': Chen Xi discusses studying in London and takes us on a tour of the city

I had just moved to London three weeks ago, and who better to show me around than a fellow Singaporean?

Enter: Chen Xi.

The former Mediacorp actor and current arts and cultural management student met up with me on a cloudy afternoon at Covent Garden to have a chat and become my temporary tour guide, showing me around his university campus and other attractions in the area.

We convened at Wa Cafe, a Japanese patisserie at Ealing Broadway, and discussed how the past year has been since he left Singapore.

"It's been one of the longer periods of my life where I've been away from home, because my previous job had me filming for two to three months in Malaysia or a nearby country, but this time I'm all the way in the West," the 33-year-old said.

He was only four days into living in London when his grandmother died, Chen Xi added, which was a difficult time for him. It was also in the middle of a heat wave — "summer with a capital S" — and Europe doesn't have much air-conditioning, especially in homes.

Chen Xi's first two to three months in London were difficult, and he showed me his journey through his small diary, where he sketched places he visited.

Early on, he went to Post Cafe, located within the St Mary Aldermary church, "literally seeking sanctuary" as his grandmother had died and he had nowhere to live yet. He also had sketches at St Paul's Cathedral, where he went despite a stressful housing situation, because he "might as well enjoy the area".

Chen Xi initially thought he'd have to get student accommodation, but his Japanese partner decided to join him in London shortly after he moved there, relocating from Vietnam because her job in IT gave her the flexibility.

They got engaged earlier this year, and Chen Xi said that one of the reasons he proposed was because "she really wanted to make things work" while he thought the added distance wouldn't work out initially.

"I would say, as young people, there's a thousand and one reasons to make things not work, but there's always one reason to make something work," he explained. "And I think this shift in mentality has really strengthened me."

He added that living with her for the first time has been "very comfortable" and "very nurturing".

"She's the cornerstone and gave me the confidence to do a lot of things I wouldn't on my own," he said. "And I guess it's because she comes from a different industry, with me coming from an arts background.

"She has a very problem-solving mentality, and while I'm like, 'Ah!' she's like, 'Solved, done'."

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'Given it my all' in acting

The last time he spoke to AsiaOne, Chen Xi — the son of veteran actress Xiang Yun and former actor Edmund Chen — told us that his acting career hadn't turned out the way he had wanted.

But this time, he shared that he had given it his all.

"I guess, ideally, I would have had a certain level of recognition or appreciation but, at the same time, it's art," he said. "For me, I was very critical of myself because the industry was very KPI (key performance indicator)-driven, but when you come here [to London], you start to really enjoy the process."

When it comes to success in the Singapore media industry, Chen Xi feels that promoting fashion is a huge part of it, and it's just not his cup of tea, compared to his younger sister Yixin, who is an actress and a model with her own clothing brand.

But there's no jealousy when it comes to the siblings, as Chen Xi said that he is "happy for her", despite being disparaged in his face for his seeming lack of success compared to Yixin and his parents.

"If this is something she's meant to be and can do well in, then she should do it," he said. "We all have different conditions, and if my sister can embrace it and really be a fashion model and do it all, you don't need everyone to be like that."

While he doesn't rule out acting again in the future, Chen Xi is currently focused on his academics at King's College London (KCL) and has a dream to "go down deep" into fine arts and immersive arts spaces, with his thesis being on the latter.

Feeling that a lot of media can be "very gatekept by certain companies", Chen Xi said about his essay: "I'm doing something along the lines of democratising access to a particular art form — I chose immersive experiences, because why not — but essentially, it's about how we could achieve creative experiences while collaborating with more people."

Coming to London to do his master's degree also let Chen Xi explore what he would do if he weren't acting, and realise he had a lot of "backlog" in terms of things he wanted to explore.

"As much as I love and appreciate acting, the schedule of filming, then resting, then filming again doesn't give you the capacity to try anything else," he said.

"We need space, we need time and coming here was really a much-needed break."

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Chen Xi still has a rental lease for another half a year, and wants to "take a look" at London and "see what the landscape is" here.

"And like I mentioned, creativity is my lane. If it's not acting but it's visual arts, sure, if it's heritage, sure. If it's a new medium, an immersive act, if it's video games, then sure, bring it."

He also doesn't mind doing a PhD, if anyone wants to sponsor it.

Vintage market, King's College London, Fountain Court

After our conversation, Chen Xi led me on a walk around the area, sharing that Covent Garden had regular performances by street buskers — we saw a breakdancer that day — a crafts market (Apple Market) and one for antiques and vintage products (Jubilee Market).

He had previously seen coins purported to be from the Roman times sold there, but had no idea if they were genuine.

We also saw an Old Chang Kee outlet but definitely weren't going to eat there, considering the steep price of £8 (S$14) for two curry puffs.

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Next, we headed up to the Piazza Terrace Bar at the Royal Opera House, and Chen Xi recommended the spot overlooking Covent Garden for dates, and also gave me tips on how to get discounts on theatre performances.

It was the London Theatre Week, which paradoxically takes place from Aug 19 to Sept 1 this year, and several of the shows at the West End had tickets at reduced prices starting from £15.

We then headed to Chen Xi's turf, taking photos in front of the grand Bush House, which currently is part of KCL's campus but once housed the BBC. Located nearby is the Somerset House, an art gallery which holds famous pieces including Vincent Van Gogh's Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear in its permanent exhibition.

We also went by the Temple Church, consecrated in the 12th century and once supported by the Knights Templar ("Before they got cancelled," Chen Xi added) and the area around it, named the Temple after it.

Here along the cobblestone paths we found the four Inns of Court in London, professional associations that lawyers in England and Wales belong to, and spent some time in front of one of them, the Middle Temple with its iconic Fountain Court.

By the fountain was a plaque quoting a poem by Martin Chuzzlewit and Charles Dickens who remarked upon how it "sparkled in the sun". Chen Xi channelled his appreciation for the fountain through a different medium — his art.

The Middle Temple offers reservations for lunch and a dining experience akin to Hogwarts with its high ceiling and long tables, but they were closed until Sept 3. Instead, we headed to The Garden Room, a cafe on the premises, for its afternoon cream tea.

We ended our tour with a meal of scones with jam and cream and a pot of tea — English breakfast for him and Earl Grey for me — all with a greedy greyhound giving us the saddest puppy eyes and begging for our scraps.

He didn't get any human food from us, don't worry.

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drimac@asiaone.com