Written by: Guangming Daily
Posted on: July 10, 2018 | 
| 中文
The city of Shenzhen
The 2018 Spring Festival for the Dog Year was the fourth one that Maddie, an Egyptian, spent in China. It was also the first one that he spent in his wife’s hometown in China. In 2017, he became the son-in-law of a Chinese family.
“I came to Shenzhen for the first time in 1997. At that time, it wasn’t just that foreigners needed passports to enter Shenzhen, but Chinese people also had to go through a ton of formalities to enter this city.” Looking back on the past 20 years, he is very impressed by the great changes in China. As a businessman, he has been traveling between Europe, the Middle East and China for a long time. “How fast is China changing? Let me put it this way; in my opinion, China looks like another country in every 6 months. "
When he first came to Shenzhen, Maddie realized the pace of the city. "Everyone here, in the conference room, at the dinner table, while chatting on the roadside, talked about establishing companies and looking for business opportunities. From the government to ordinary citizens, everyone was only thinking about one thing: development. And they were highly efficient." He still cannot understand Chinese after so many years, but this does not affect his business. “In fact, it does not matter if one does not understand Chinese, because China is already quite internationalized, and the people in Shenzhen are very pragmatic. Even if you are a foreigner, there is hardly any communication barrier as long as you are frank and honest with people.”
However, in Maddie’s view, there were also some slight imperfections."My overall impression of Chinese people at that time was that as long as they could make money, other things did not matter. For example, they did not attach much importance to enjoying life, but just kept on repeatedly working hard.”
Yet, this time, Maddie found something very different. In his visit to China this year, he and his wife went to Heyuan city in the Guangdong province. “We stayed at a local hostel and noticed that people there were quite well dressed and behaved very politely. There were mostly families traveling there. The Chinese are focusing not only on material accumulation, but also on spiritual cultivation and enjoyment of life. Shenzhen, even more so. Almost every day there are newly opened fancy restaurants, and Chinese people are increasingly seeking a more delicate work-life balance.”
In Maddie’s opinion, Shenzhen not only develops fast, but also provides a sense of belonging. When ranking the cities he has lived in, according to his favorite metric, he used to put hometown Alexander in Egypt first, Lisbon in Portugal second, and Shenzhen third. “But with this visit to Shenzhen, I think my ranking should be changed. Alexander and Shenzhen should both rank the first.”
Maddie talked about his stories in Shenzhen and other parts of China. At the same time, he had a hunch that there will be more stories in the future. Maddie and his wife now live in Dubai, UAE and meet people from all over the world. “To put it in an exaggerated way, from Europe to the Middle East, everyone in every place along the way is talking about the ‘Belt and Road’ these days, and they are all looking forward to the unlimited opportunities provided by China.”
At the end of the interview, Maddie showed the journalist a Chinese branded backpack, which still had its price tag attached. He fancied it at the first glance and bought it in a shop, on his way to the interview. “I love Chinese goods, because they are of good quality and have an avant-garde design. They are also becoming more popular abroad.” Then, Maddie took his wife's hand, and said with a smile, “I like everything in China. And of course, my favorite will always be my wife.”
Translated by Xu Donglin
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