Wen Zhiming, 42, is back to doing what he does best: ferrying friends around his home town of Shunde, in Guangdong province, explaining the intricacies of the local porridge and demystifying the city's rise from small farming town to a dynamic manufacturing and agribusiness centre in southern China.
But just a few weeks ago, Mr Wen was a detainee in Hong Kong, required to report to police every day. As one of the 14 men who were held by the police after last December's World Trade Organisation ministerial conference, he experienced a modern judicial system at first-hand and came away with a new point of view on politics, justice and the economic impact of the WTO.
Mr Wen is an entrepreneur and it was a business opportunity that brought him to Hong Kong on December 15. On that day, he met Hong Kong residents Rebecca Lui and Kathy Leung, whom he'd met last August in Tibet. The three expected to wrap up business early and then tour the city until December 18, when Mr Wen planned to return to the mainland.
Like many in Hong Kong that night, Ms Lui and Mr Wen were drawn to the protests, but when night fell and tear gas drove the protesters to Gloucester Street - already cordoned off by the police - only Ms Lui was allowed to return home.
Mr Wen was arrested and detained with other protesters from South Korea, Thailand, France, Taiwan, the Philippines, and an assortment of other nationalities. He was allowed a phone call on the evening of December 17 and told Ms Lui where he was being held.
She visited him the next day and both were convinced he would be released soon, but later that evening both Ms Leung and Ms Lui received calls from the police asking if they would agree to be guarantors for Mr Wen.