Into the Sea of Sound: Xingyu Li on Chasing Whales, Sailing, and Encounters Around the World

From Beijing to Weizhou Island, from the Amazon rainforest to more distant seas, Xingyu Li travels with recording gear and a sailboat, casting himself into nature again and again. On Weizhou Island, he and his team captured over 700 recordings of what may be Bryde’s whale signals, and realized for the first time that whale sounds are far from the “songs” people imagine. They can resemble the croak of a bullfrog or the rasp of a toad, low, coarse, yet undeniably real. Life at sea is much the same. He has been drenched by wind and rain, and kept solitary watch beneath the stars; some days are spent waiting endlessly for the wind to turn, while others demand split-second decisions in moments of near loss of control. Sailing reshaped his sense of time. When a whale surfaces, time seems to stretch without limit; when the boat drifts off course, time suddenly tightens. Within this constant shifting, one needs both the strength to confront the waves and the patience to listen for signals that are faint and far away. In this episode, Xingyu Li joins us to talk about his years of “listening into the sea.” This episode is part of the series “Into Time, Moving with Resilience,” presented in collaboration with the Chanel J12 watch. Inspired by the J-Class yachts of the America’s Cup, the J12 is crafted from high-tech ceramic, seven times stronger than steel yet remarkably light. It embodies a spirit of resilience that balances strength and softness. Sailing shares the same duality: moving forward under full sail, while quietly waiting for the wind.