Stephen exchanges ideas with his colleague in the NETZSCH workshop. (Photo/Xinhua)

Stephen, 48, is from Germany and has lived in Lanzhou, capital of northwest China’s Gansu province, for over ten years. He first came to Lanzhou on a business exchange in 2005, and was deeply attracted to the unique culture of the city, which is located on the Yellow River.

In 2006, Stephen was again dispatched to the city, this time by the head office of NETZSCH Group, a world famous German machinery manufacturing company, to become its marketing manager. Today, Stephen is the international sales manager of NETZSCH (Lanzhou) Pumps Co., Ltd, NETZSCH Group’s first wholly-owned enterprise in China.

In 2009, Stephen fell in love with a woman from Lanzhou, got married and settled down in China. He has traveled to a dozen Chinese cities with his wife, experiencing local customs and making new friends.

He goes to work like everyone else, enjoys Chinese food cooked by his wife after work, and gets together with friends at the weekend. Stephan noted that China is a great place to live and work.

“I love China,” said Stephen, adding that China is now his home. From his perspective, China’s rapid development is attracting more and more foreigners to the country, not only executives of multinational enterprises, but also junior staff in various industries.