Yunjia Zhang is a visual anthropologist and filmmaker holding an M.A. in Social and Cultural Anthropology from KU Leuven.
Bridging ethnographic depth with cinematic storytelling, she specializes in decoding complex cultural dynamics—from somatic healing and spiritual tourism to urban gentrification—for both academic inquiry and strategic application.
张蕴佳是一位影像创作者和运用人类学视角理解社会文化的观察者，获得鲁汶大学社会与文化人类学硕士学位。
她致力于将民族志深度与影像叙事相结合，关注人在心理与身体层面的真实处境。运用人类学的批判视角来理解泰国佛教旅游业和城市士绅化等社会文化现象，并将其应用于学术研究与策略咨询。
Embodied Escape: Anthropology of Meditation 具身逃离：泰国清迈冥想的人类学研究
Chiang Mai attracts numerous tourists with its rich natural ecology, but what draws people there beyond affordable prices and good food? As a site for Theravada Buddhist practice, local governments and temples have long developed it into a healing tourism industry. Participants experience the life of monks or nuns for varying durations.
What intrigues me is whether those who come to participate actually believe in Buddhism. Why are they willing to spend days meditating and eating vegetarian food in remote mountain temples? In a present moment where various desires cannot be rapidly satisfied, why do they choose to actively sever their desires?
This research employs anthropological participant observation and ethnographic filmmaking to explore why people come to meditation centers. In a contemporary era where universal religious belief is largely absent, why do people still need these practices, which are often defined as "irrational" or "superstitious"?
清迈因其丰富的自然生态而吸引了诸多游客，但在低廉的价格和美食之外还有什么吸引着大家呢？泰国作为小乘佛教的实践地坐拥诸多寺庙资源，当地政府和寺庙早已将其发展成疗愈旅游产业。大多寺庙不要求住宿费，只需按个人心意缴纳供奉资金即可。参与者则会体验比丘/尼的生活，时长不等。
令我好奇的是前来参与的人们是否信佛，为何愿意来荒山野岭的寺庙里坐禅吃素多日，在这个各类欲望不被急速得到满足的当下却选择主动切割欲望。
本研究采用人类学参与式观察和民族志影像的拍摄来探讨人们为何来到冥想中心，在宗教信仰普遍缺失的当下，为何人们还需要此类被界定为“非理性”，“迷信”的实践活动？
Jiaxiang Temple 纪录片《嘉祥寺》
An anthropological perspective on the transformation of a Shanxi temple as cultural heritage, caught between management policies and local ecology.
The temple required scheduled restoration, yet the management believed that protecting the temple meant completely cutting off its function—namely, burning incense and worship. Villager Mr. Zhang has dedicated his life to preserving the temple's historical records. By chance, he encounters a group of temple restoration volunteers, revealing how younger generations hold vastly different attitudes toward traditional temple culture.
人类学视角看待山西寺庙作为文化遗产在管理和本土生态之间的变化。
寺庙到年份要修建，但管理方却认为保护寺庙意味着完全切断寺庙的功能即焚香和祭拜。村民张先生用毕生精力来搜索保存寺庙资料。机缘巧合下遇到一群寺庙修护的志愿者，但年轻人对传统寺庙文化的态度却各有各的不同。
Shanghai Urban Archeo 上海城市考古策划
Founded in 2018, Shanghai Urban Archeo features over 100 exclusive citywalk routes covering all 16 districts of Shanghai, with footprints extending overseas.
I participated in route curation, including the "Blossoms" (繁花) reading club route and the Jewish history route. I also collaborated with the Rockbund Art Museum to curate exhibitions, bridging spatial memory with public engagement.
城市考古成立于2018年，拥有覆盖全上海16区100+独家citywalk路线，并将足迹延伸至海外。
参与策划路线，繁花读书会，犹太人路线等。与外滩美术馆合作策划展览。
Pearl (Fiction Short) 剧情短片《Pearl》
A personal narrative film about intimacy and loss in a modern metropolis.
一部关于现代都市亲密关系与失落的个人叙事短片。
