My journey in the wonderland

"So how was your journey to China?" asks Alexandra. "Highly enjoyable", responds Alice, "You should visit it sometime."

— Alice in the Wonderland (Through the Looking Glass)

My incredible journey to China started in 2017 when I got selected as a CAS-TWAS awardee for PhD studies at one of the best institutes of the world, University of Science and Technology of China (USTC). When I arrived in China, I was like Alice in the wonderland. I was curious about the people, the culture, the cuisine and of course the huge variety of landscapes China has to offer; from extreme freezing temperatures of north to the hot tropical south, with one of the world's longest river Yangtze, largest desert Gobi and one of the eight wonders, the Great Wall of China.

I found many great people and made several Chinese friends along the way. These friends made me see China through the eye of a local Chinese. Although, due to its geographic location, China has remained isolated for many years from the foreign world, yet I always found the locals very welcoming, friendly and hospitable towards foreigners. Especially now, when the transportation facilities developed and the country with a rich ancient civilization history of more than 5,000 years opened its borders to the foreign world. These incredible Chinese friends that I met made my understanding of the Chinese culture and civilization much easier, enjoyable and memorable. Through the long conversations and discussions, I was amazed to find the similarities we have between our cultures and developed mutual respect for the differences as well. It wouldn't be an exaggeration if I say that it was due to these friends, I never felt alienated in a place far away from my home. The invitations to their weddings and New Year's Eve family dinners made me feel like I am one of the family members too. Due to these reasons, I consider China my second home and love it like my own country!

You cannot explore China properly if you do not try its delicious variety of food. I am compelled to say, and I feel quite sure about it too, that, if you eat a new kind of food every day for one whole year, the list of Chinese food would still never end! Though I love to eat almost all kind of Chinese cuisines, I found Sichuan and Hunan cuisines quite mouth-watering and stimulating towards my tastebuds. One simply cannot resist the alluring aroma, tingling and mouthwatering flavors of these cuisines. And here is my rule of thumb: if someone offers you a hotpot always say yes! For a foodie like me, China is a heaven. Dinner parties are one of my favorite occasions. The variety of the food, sounds of glasses clinking for a Ganbei and happy chitchats all over the huge dinner table makes the atmosphere of the room quite vibrant. If you are a night owl, you can always go out any time of the night and find delicious stalls of BBQ or spicy Longxia and satisfy your appetite at night. I simply cannot live without Chinese food. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I was craving for the Chinese food, so I started learning the art of cooking Chinese cuisine at home and my passion and love for the Chinese food made cooking Chinese dishes quite fun and easy.

Like I said earlier, China is a huge wonderland. It has a rich, millennia old beautiful culture. Every city you visit tells you its own story and history. From the big, technologically advanced, cities like Shanghai or Guangzhou to the ancient hustling and bustling cities like Xi'an and Hangzhou, each city has its unique aura that spellbinds you. If you like a more calming and relaxing environment, you can always visit the green hills, still lakes or seashores in Yunnan or Qinghai and enjoy a cup of soothing Chinese green tea there or enjoy the music of a bamboo flute. If you like to learn about the history and culture you can go to the beautiful cities like Suzhou and Hangzhou also known as the 'Venice of China' and 'Paradise on Earth', respectively, and see the never-ending rivers and streams, enjoy a ride on beautifully carved boats shaped like a dragon or see a Dragon Dance Show while enjoying Chou Doufu and Tanghulu and pose a photo wearing traditional Qipao. If you are more of a city lover, you can make a trip to the mega-cities like Beijing and Shanghai and enjoy the fascinating modern and unique architecture there. One of the things I like about China is that it has developed the transportation facilities so well that you do not have to think twice before planning a trip. With the biggest network of high-speed trains in this country you can almost travel anywhere here comfortably and within a short span of time. Availing this facility, in my five-year stay here in China, I visited more than a dozen cities and came across their charming features and unique landscapes from high altitude peaks of Huangshan to the frozen rivers in Harbin and exceptionally designed old and modern architectures like the Great Wall in Beijing and Canton Tower in Guangzhou.

This five-year stay was a remarkable milestone in my educational career as well. China offers world-class advanced research facilities in its institutes. It is no wonder that in the last decade or so, China has not only made it to the Moon but also sent a rover to Mars and manned mission to space, invented quantum computing, and AI robots that look like humans. It has advanced in nanotechnology and biotechnology. Through its mind-blowing technological advancement and policies, China ended the COVID-19 pandemic within a few months and set an amazing example for the world. I am proud that I graduated from one of the best laboratories and universities in China, The Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, USTC, which launched the world's first Quantum Communication Satellite. I am glad that I contributed my part to the research work on nanotechnology here and was honored to receive the 'Academic Excellence Award' by a prestigious institute like USTC. Though it only seems like yesterday when I came here, five years have already been passed during which I completed my PhD and got appointed as a Postdoctoral fellow at another world-renowned institute, Zhejiang University, which stands among the top 50 best institutes in the world now according to the latest QS World University Rankings of 2022.

Now, when I reflect on these five years of my life, a beautiful story of this wonderland with most amazing memories run through my mind. The journey has not ended though. There is too much to explore and I am looking forward to it, during my postdoc stay. This story is a whole new exciting experience for me, and it will always be remembered. Whenever a Chinese asks me how was my experience in China so far as an expat, I tell them, "我是中国人! 我爱中国!"

中国加油！

Shafaq Sahar is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China. She received her PhD degree in Inorganic Chemistry from University of Science and Technology of China as a CAS-TWAS Fellow. She has spent five years in China and loves travelling, photography, exploring different cultures and trying different foods.

The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of China Daily and China Daily website.