Biography: Born in Toronto, Canada, Ryan Pyle spent his early years close to home. After obtaining a degree in International Politics from the University of Toronto, Ryan fled to China on an exploratory mission. In 2002 Ryan moved to China permanently and began taking freelance assignments in 2003.In 2004, Ryan became a regular contributor to the New York Times covering China, where he documented issues such as rural healthcare, illegal land seizures, bird flu and environmental degradation. More recently he has branched out in to mostly magazine work expanding his portfolio to include the Sunday Times Magazine, Der Spiegel, Fortune, TIME, Outside, Forbes, and Newsweek. Ryan Pyle is based full time in Shanghai, China.