Ziran Wang's Hobbies

Soccer

Soccer has been the love of my life since 2002. When I witnessed Germany's loss of World Cup Final against Brazil, I became a fan of Oliver Kahn, and therefore a fan of FC Bayern Munich. Back then, I cannot imagine I would be a fan of Bayern for more than 20 years.

I visited Allianz Arena and Saebener Strasse in Munich twice, and I will definitely go back to Munich in the future. My most unforgettable memories about Bayern over the past years are: 1. The retirement of Sebastian Deisler; 2. The transfer of Toni Kroos to Real Madrid; and 3. The loss of 2012 UEFA Final against Chelsea at Allianz Arena. Interestingly, all those unforgettable memories were sad moments. My favorite Bayern players are: Kahn, Deisler, Kroos, Roy Makaay, and Manuel Neuer.

Besides Bayern, I am also a fan of FC Chongqing Lifan. I have been to Lifan's (now called "Liangjiang") matches for more than 20 times, since I was taken to Datianwan Stadium by my dad when I was four. My favorite Lifan player is Huang Xiyang. Since I lived in southern California for four years, I also became a fan of LA Galaxy, where I went to Stubhub Center (now called Dignity Health Sports Park) to support Galaxy for four consecutive seasons.

The above four pictures are: 1) Allianz Arena in Munich; 2) FC Bayern's headquarter on Saebener Strasse in Munich (I am the blue-shirt guy over there); 3) Mercedes-Benz Arena in Stuttgart (at a Bundesliga match between Bayern and Stuttgart; 4) Dietmar-Hopp-Stadion in Sinsheim (home to Hoffenheim before their promotion to Bundesliga).

If it's not because I haven't been playing soccer that often since I started my Ph.D. career, I would have mentioned my identity as a "soccer player" earlier. I was the captains of our junior high school team (class 12), senior high school team (class 11), and undergrad school team (School of Automation). I am also a member of our college team (Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications). I played midfielder in all aforementioned teams.

During Spring 2014, I represented Beijing to participate in the Chinese University Footbal League (NCAA equivalent) Northern Division Final, since our college team were the champion among all colleges in Beijing in 2013. During Spring 2015, I participated in the CUFL Beijing Division.

Britpop

Britpop is surely not the only genre of music I like, but it is my favorite out of many. I was attracted by the cover of a music magazine back in 2008, and the band on that cover was Oasis. The voice of Liam Gallagher brought me to the world of Britpop, and that's still my favorite voice of all singers in the world.

Liam and Noel Gallagher broke up right after I became a fan of Oasis, so I started to get to know other britpop bands (or similar genres). Among all the other bands, U2 and Coldplay (only the first two albums) are my favorites. I also listen to Radiohead, Keane, Muse, and Green Day. As a fan of Oasis, I don't like Blur, and I really mean it: I simply don't like their style.

Other than Britpop, I also enjoy other genre of music. My favorite American singer is Norah Jones, and I used to be a super fan of Eminem (when I was younger I was really into hip-hop). My favorite Chinese singer is Cheer Chen, and I used to be a super fan of Mayday (again, that was a younger me).

Thanks to the advantage of living close to LA, I got chances to go all kinds of concerts. Here is a list of concerts I have been to: Norah Jones * 2 (Yes I really like her style and voice), Liam Gallagher, Noel Gallagher and High Flying Birds (oh boy I miss Oasis), U2, Coldplay, Greenday, Suede, Bon Jovi, Arctic Monkeys, Travis (not Travis Scott), The Killers (not my kind of rock...), Simple Plan (not my kind of rock again), Jason Mraz, Mayday, Yoga Lin, Ma Di and yet many more.
Top 3 concert experiences so far:
1. U2 - The Joshua Tree Tour 2017 at Rose Bowl, Pasadena. I was standing on the floor level during that concert, so the vibe of the concert was sensational to me. Bono is truly phenomenal: he is simply the definition of the phrase "rock star".
2. Jason Mraz at Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles. Jason is an authentic performer, and the live experience of I'm Yours couldn't be better! The other reason is Hollywood Bowl: you have to admit that a night concert in an open-air venue like this or Greek Theater in LA is simply incredible.
3. Pacific Symphony at Pacific Amphitheatre. Yes, symphony orchestra! This was just the second time I went to symphony concerts but I was amazed by their performance of 1812 Overture. Believe it or not: I bursted into tears when I heard the cannons and saw the fireworks coming with them! I didn't even know music can be this wonderful.

On our undergrad commencement party at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunication in 2015, I was fortunate to perform with our band as the lead vocal. Here is a short clip of that performance.

Travel

This must be the least cool hobby since it is pretty much on everyone's hobby list. Below are a list of countries I travelled to besides my home country China and my current working country United States:
1. Italy
2. Germany
3. France
4. Switzerland
5. Austria
6. Monaco
7. Vatican City
8. Liechtenstein
9. Thailand

Among all the places I travelled to, my top 5 favorite places are ranked as:
1. Chongqing, China (my home town, one of the most beautiful cities in China)

2. San Francisco, USA (due to its hilly terrain, foggy weather and colorful buildings)
3. Monaco
4. Florence, Italy
5. Phuket, Thailand

The above pictures are: 1) The picture I took for Ponte Vecchio in Florence, at my second visit there; 2) At a train station to the top of Jungfrau, Switzerland; 3) Finally touching the F-1 track in Monaco (I was a huge F-1 fan when I was a kid).