SINGAPORE - There must be something about Liaoning that makes people from the Chinese rust belt province appear to have that extra layer of resilience. Liaoning’s population may be shrinking but the people think king-size; the sugared sodas they drink still come in 500ml bottles, their preferred size. 

Born in the provincial capital of Shenyang, Ms Shuo Wang was raised there until her teens, at which point she emigrated with her mother to the United States to join her grandparents who’d already moved there. The grit that lies in Liaoning’s soil seems to be part of Ms Wang’s soul.