Then, just before summer, I was told there was a project in Ladakh - the new Central Asian Museum that was due for soft opening in August - and that it needed a lighting designer. When I applied to volunteer for THF I didn't expect to be going to India, a country I knew little about. But ... the timing was right, so I decided to go for it. All my friends and family were quite worried about my decision; I wasn't too sure either. I have never travelled solo, and this was to be my second trip abroad ever. But it turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made.

What exactly did you do in India, and what were some of the most unforgettable moments?

Ladakh was a key town along the ancient Silk Road, and the Central Asian Museum exhibits relics from those days of Silk Road trade, as well as Tibetan and Buddhist artefacts. The museum was built in the shape of a Tibetan-Ladakhi tower fortress using local materials, and it was nearly finished when I arrived, except for the lighting facilities. So for about 40 days I worked with local labourers on designing and wiring lights for the museum; there were also about 10 other THF volunteers working on other aspects of the museum or on other projects in Ladakh.

The whole experience was amazing. The place was so beautiful and pure; it's hard not to open up your mind and heart there. The locals were very simple-minded people, and the volunteers were all so dedicated to the job at hand; there was no talk of money or fame. The volunteers came from different parts of the world and stayed for different periods of time; some were returnees, others came as a family. Every day we cooked and ate together; sometimes we went hiking locally. We became very close.

At the end of my volunteering I took a bus from Ladakh, which is in the northern tip of India, back to Delhi. Those three days were incredible too, as I travelled from the otherworldly pureness of northern India back to the hustle and bustle of New Delhi. The contrast was striking.

I then travelled around India for two more weeks before coming back to Beijing. I especially loved Jaisalmer in the state of Rajasthan with its Gold Palace and deserts.

India is not really a popular destination for mainland tourists. What was your impression of the country and its people?

Yes, it seems there isn't much promotion of tourism to India, and Chinese people's knowledge of India is limited. But now that I've been there I highly recommend it, since it's a nation of rich culture and history, yet so different from ours at the same time.

Initially I was quite scared, because the country appears so busy with so much noise and such messy traffic; guidebooks also tell you there are lots of scammers. However, after a while, I slowly got used to the environment, and I began to appreciate how everything could be so natural. All of the buzz and even the cows roaming around are the result of things being allowed to go their own way undisturbed. And once I got used to it, I could choose to avoid things that bothered me, such as places that were too crowded, or cow dung!

The only time I was reminded of potential animosity between India and China was when I travelled near Pangong Lake on the border, which is two-thirds China's and one-third India's. We weren't allowed to go near the lake.

Did you know much about the Tibet issue before you went?

Not really; what I knew came from the media. However, I felt that there wasn't a lot of politics where I was. All I felt was the pureness of the people and the scenery.

Why did you decide to hold this exhibition 'Far from the Madding Crowd'?

Tibet, for us, has always been a place our heart desires to visit - its blue sky and white clouds, a land of purity. Nie Yun volunteered for THF for a few years and travelled extensively in Tibetan regions, while I visited India this summer. These projects helped turn our desires into reality, while at the same time allowing us to help others. We wanted to share in that experience.

Coincidentally, another former colleague of ours, Kinh [German-Vietnamese architect Tran Kinh Manh], and his wife Jennifer opened a new architectural firm near Nanluoguxiang [in Beijing] and wanted to use the space for regular architecture-related exhibitions, with a purpose to serve the community in the future, something no one is doing at the moment in Beijing. The three of us decided that this exhibition would be a good first show. We decided to show photos from our two trips, but rather than hanging them as usual on walls we decided to suspend the photos in midair, so people could see these photos while being surrounded by them.

With this exhibition we want to raise people's awareness of the importance of preserving architectural heritage. It's very common in China for every village to look the same, because of government planning, but we should pay more attention to preserving traditional culture. The need to preserve architectural heritage is not only limited to Tibetans. We also have courtyards and hutongs. These buildings have their characteristics and shouldn't be made uniform. People should have choices.

What we discovered during our volunteer work was that locals don't really envy our lifestyle. They have their unique geographical conditions, and their unique structure has kept the heat in and the wind out for thousands of years.

We can use modern materials to strengthen the buildings, but to use completely modern architecture is inappropriate.

We can find a way to satisfy our modern-day needs while preserving culture.

What do you plan to do next?

I hope to continue to dedicate my time to community projects whenever possible. I became an interior designer partly because I came from Shanxi , a province known for its pollution, and I became interested in how to make the environment more clean and beautiful.

Shanxi is also famous for historical towns such as Pingyao , Taiyuan and Datong . Now, although these sites are preserved, they are also getting highly commercialised. Have we really achieved the purpose of preserving our cultural heritage? This is something we should think about. For example, Shanxi's cave dwellings, which are the topic of my university graduation project. I hope one day I'll be able to do something to help preserve local characteristics, something meaningful.