They were two white kids who moved to Harbin, China in the early 1980s - 'outsiders' to a homogenous community of some seven million Chinese people.
But for 2-year-old Jeff Hutchens and his brother Peter, just 10-months then, it was the beginning of a respect and love for a country, which eventually led them to make the six-part documentary series Somewhere in China.
"China was the first place we lived and the connection with it is the strongest," said Peter, now 27, who also grew up in South Africa and the Philippines, as a member of the globe-roaming Hutchens family.
With Jeff's stunning photography and Peter's acclaimed filmmaking, the duo take their fondness of China in a three-and-a-half month journey documenting for National Geographic the unseen and understated regions of the country.
From the rugged city of Kashgar to the Yangtze River, the ice city of Harbin to Inner Mongolia, they also play the role of 'reluctant' programme hosts, always mindful of letting the peoples' experiences, cultures and landscapes speak for themselves.
Call it a "backstage pass" to China if you will, says the younger Hutchen.
Their experiences range from reverence to amazement, like in Kashgar, where Jeff and Peter are invited to play a polo-like game with a headless goat as the ball. In a Kashgar restaurant later, they savour the local cuisine of goat's head.
From their hotel room in Kuala Lumpur, Jeff and Peter take time off their hectic schedules to have a chat with the media in Singapore via a conference call.
Compared to what your remember as a child growing up, did the locals treat you any differently this time around?
Peter: We always found the Chinese to be really open, friendly, and very curious. Because of this curiosity, people in Harbin weren't really opposed to Westerners or Western kids.
Jeff Hutchens
In one of the episodes we actually go back to Harbin - it's amazing how much that city has transformed and become more international. But the baseline curiosity and friendliness is still there.
Jeff: We've always felt warmly received in China. Anytime we've lived there or travelled through there, it has always been an incredibly positive experience. It's always felt a little bit like home to us.
Why do Somewhere in China?
Jeff: What we wanted to do with this series was to explore the places of China that people normally don't think of as much. In the Western world, there is often a conception of China as a monolithic entity that's the same from border to border.
We wanted to go to places like Xinjiang in the far North West, look at the Uygur population out there and Islam in China. We were in the central square of Kashgar at the end of Ramadan and we saw about 40,000 to 50,000 Uygur Muslims all united in the call for prayer. That's an amazing thing to see, and a departure from what people expect.
China is a huge and diverse country. What were some of the unusual cultural practices you encountered?
Jeff: The variation on polo with a headless goat with the Kyrgyz tribe of nomads. That's not a game we've ever played, or something the majority of the world has.
Peter: It's not a ritual or anything, but in Harbin there was a group of people who go ice swimming everyday, in some minus 14 degree Celsius water. This is a group of mostly retirees who do it every morning. We actually participated in that and had a whole new respect for the people of Harbin.
Was this part of a cultural practice, or for leisure?
Jeff: To me it doesn't seem so leisurely, it's absolutely painful! It ties in with an interest in health - just being active. We always appreciate when we are in this part of the world, how dynamic and physically active the cultures are, no matter old or young people.
It's one of my favourite things to photograph, it's inspiring. To get up at the crack dawn and see people ballroom dancing, playing badminton, doing tai chi or any kind of calisthenics. I think the ice swimming is in line with that.
What were some of the strangest things you ate?
Peter Hutchens
Peter: When we were out in Xinjiang, we ordered the house specialty in a restaurant, and a goat's head showed up. We kind of pride ourselves on being able to eat anything, but we were surprised! On the streets in Beijing, we ate starfish and centipedes.
Jeff: The starfish just tasted like fried oil, and the goat's head was chock full of cartilage and we had a little bit of the brain and it tasted like some sort of pâté, with a bit of a worse aftertaste.
What was the worst experience during the shooting?
Jeff: The day after we had a vodka binge in an ice bar in Harbin. That was rough and we lost a day of filming.
Peter: Harbin has this history of Russian influence which was loosely tied in with the cold. We went to an ice bar and indulged too much. I agree with you Jeff - that was pretty rough.
The best experience?
Peter: I loved the Yangtze river, we had the opportunity to go up over the river in ultra-light airplanes. Jeff took off from the water, I took off from land. We got a view of the river that most people don't get to see - we were dipping down low on the water and pulling back up.
There's something very lyrical about the Yangtze. You can tell why the river has inspired poets and painters all over the country.
Outside of Beijing and Shanghai, where would you recommend travellers to visit?
Jeff: I probably go to Inner Mongolia or Xinjiang. I love the landscape - the geography is incredibly stunning, some parts are pretty forbidding. I like the cooler, drier climate. Those kinds of environment are pretty appealing.
Peter: I was incredibly struck by the beauty of the Yangtze river. It may be a predictable one - a lot of tour groups go there.
We had the privilege of going from the main river on the smaller tributaries, and we took it all the way till we literally could not pull our boat any further and we got stuck on the rocks. That was an amazing experience - seeing the mist that flows through the mountains and the green water with the green hills.
It felt like we were connecting with a part of China that is timeless.
"Somewhere in China: Ice City" and "Somewhere in China: Going Local" will air on the Starhub Nat Geo Adventure channel on Oct 19 and 26 at 7pm (HK/SIN). For other regions, check your local listings.
