I am Waiting for You in Guangzhou

To some foreign expats, Guangzhou is their home. They came and settled down. For those who come to the city for their very first time, or are still figuring out their way around life here, they may wonder why this city attracts them so much. We looked into it and discovered the reasons.

With a history of 2,030 years and a profound culture, Guangzhou has long been playing the role of a "Messenger" between different regions and cultures. This dates back to Tang Dynasty (618 A.D. – 907 A.D.) when the Maritime Trading Administration was setup to regulate five trading ports in China. Since then, business activities have been booming in Guangzhou. It also made the Thirteen Hongs of Canton well known in the trading world.

Ever since the implement of the Opening-up Policy, Guangzhou has been serving as the "South Gate" where China meets the world.

On 2016 Globalization and World Cities rankings, Guangzhou is listed as a world class "Alpha-" rated city for the first time. March 2017, Guangzhou came to the first place in the ranking of Cities of Opportunity which is a report jointly launched by Pricewater house Coopers and the China Development Research Foundation. Also in March this year, the latest promotional branding video of the city Guangzhou – "Guangzhou, Flower City in Bloom" was screened non-stop for 7 days at Times Square in New York, catching the eyes of audiences from all over the world.

You may wonder what Guangzhou is like from a foreign expat's perspective? We invited five foreign expats who work and live in Guangzhou to share their thoughts.

Tangiku Humio is a Japanese national who has worked and lived in Guangzhou for three years. As the third largest bank in Japan, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation is among the world's top ten commercial banks, making the development of its Guangzhou branch closely related to the economic vitality of the city.

In Tangiku Humio's opinion, Guangzhou is a city of opportunities. At the same time, it is also a city with warmth.

He likes places such as Shamian Island. Standing between buildings which were established in the 19th century and overlooking the Pearl River, he feels as if he sees the people who started their journey to the outside world in the old times.

Tangiku Humio sees Guangzhou as a city of innovation. It gathers a lot of foreign enterprises and attracts high-end innovative projects with deep influences. Guangzhou Branch of SMBC has spent 25 years in this city. Tangiku Humio will continue to witness Guangzhou's booming development in the future.

Bram van Ooijen, from the Netherlands, was involved in the design of Guangzhou's Bus Rapid Transit System and Urban Greenway. These are unforgettable experience for him. The 33-year-old even has a Chinese name for himself, "Ouyang Bai".

Bram's journey of discovering Guangzhou started with bicycling. In the past three years, the organisation Cycle Canton which was founded by Bram has already taken 5,000 foreign visitors from 65 countries, aging from 3 to 80, on journeys to see around the city. A clearer picture of the city comes to mind as different feelings arise along the same route he takes.

To Bram, there are so many places in Guangzhou worthy of visiting and so much culture and history to dig up. On his bicycle tour, people are able to see how the local people live their lives in the city and hear their stories.

Bram's favourite place in Guangzhou is People's Park, one of the oldest spots in the city which is covered with green trees and crowded with people from all walks of life. It's a great place to make friends, sing and dance with them.