Mark: "Xiamen is one of the best places to live in China"

What are the reasons which attracted you to settle in China?

My UK company set up a Representative Office in Xiamen during 2008, with Chinese staff, facilitating shipment of goods to UK. Although I had for many years been a frequent visitor to China, by 2010 it was obvious there were serious problems of corruption in our Xiamen office, so I removed those staff that were complicit, took over direct management of the office myself, converted it to a WFOC, and established it as a trading company exporting to third party customers. That is how I came to settle in China (in between fairly frequent trips back to UK).

How was the moving process?

I was already quite familiar with China, and in 2010 went to Xiamen troubleshooting for an unspecified period, eventually deciding that hands on management of our Xiamen company was required, so rented an apartment and settled down there, more or less. On that basis, the "moving process" just sort of happened gradually as things progressed.
Having said that, by far the hardest part of the moving process was getting a Resident Permit, and not using an agent but by myself with the help of my staff was a long complex process. There are other posts on expat-blog about Resident Permits in China, but believe me, it is no easy thing. After a year and a half of having a Resident Permit my bag was stolen at the Canton Fair in 2011, including my passport, containing my Resident Permit. Consequently, I could not just renew, but had to go right back to the beginning, starting again with a 30 day single entry visa, and repeating the whole long painful process before I could get a new Resident Permit. For anyone who has a Resident Permit, please, please, please take good care of it!!

What are the formalities you had to go through to settle your business in Xiamen?

China must be one of the most bureaucratic places in the world, and if a business as a WFOC can be set up in China, it can be set up anywhere. Having established companies in UK and several European countries, establishing a business in China is mind-bogglingly difficult by comparison. Again, we mostly did the work by ourselves, but it was a long exasperating process to set up a WFOC, and have lost count of the number of government bureaus one has to register with.

Did you face some difficulties to adapt to your host country (language, culture, do's and don'ts)?

In this respect, surprisingly few difficulties. I speak Chinese poorly, just about well enough to get by, but a lot of Chinese these days can speak English to varying levels. There are cultural differences, but not as great as one might at first imagine, and such cultural differences as there are, are for the most part fairly easy to adapt to, or accept.
The biggest difference, again going back to business, is how very different it is running a company on China, compared to UK or Europe. Apart for the fact that ALL companies keep two sets of books, one set above the table, and one set under the table, (which took a long time to get used to), the whole work ethos is very different. There's pros and cons, and Chinese staff are for the most part very hard working and ambitious, but it has to be said often lacking in pro-activity. As an example, a sale meeting in our UK office would be a noisy affair with everyone wanting to make suggestions, but in China, sales staff will usually sit back and politely listen, and it is hard work to get comment. I think this goes back to the different ways students are taught in China and in Western countries.

What surprised you the most in Xiamen?

I first came to China 1997, and have visited regularly since then prior to becoming resident in 2010, therefore as my introduction to China has been very gradual, it is hard to say any one thing in Xiamen was surprising. However, thinking back to 1997, or even ten years later, 2007, the most surprising/amazing thing has been the breakneck pace of development and consumerism right across the spectrum of Chinese society. It is amazing how one country can change so much in such a short space of time.

Is it easy to meet new people there?

It isn't hard to meet new people in Xiamen. The https://www.expat.community is relatively small, around 3,000 people, I think, in Xiamen district, mostly living on Xiamen island, and as I live and work away from the main expat areas, I seldom see foreigners in Xiamen day by day. However, Chinese generally are friendly, and fairly kind, and it is not hard to meet new people.

Could you please share with us something you like about Xiamen and something you don't like?

Like - Xiamen is a developed and relatively small island city, and at weekends it is easy to escape from the city into the mountains. Not too polluted (by Chinese standards), and a good balance of places of interest, entertainment, etc.
Dislike - in common with the rest of Southern China, no heating in winter, and too much spitting, and (in places) too much litter!! Cost of living also higher than most other cities (Shanghai excepted), and with apartments at RMB 30,000 / square meter (on Xiamen Island), massively overpriced. Also, in Xiamen, and China generally, a mind-blowing level of bureaucracy.

What do you miss the most from the UK, your home country?

What do I most miss in UK... politeness, country pubs, visible history (in China it has largely been bulldozed)...but certainly don't miss the weather in UK! In general though, it is hard to say I miss much about in UK when I'm in China, one just adjusts to where one is, and that becomes day by day "normality".

What do you do in your spare time?

With businesses in Xiamen, UK, Italy, and Spain, not much spare time, but on Sundays will often walk in the mountains. If I can grab a few days off, will head over to Thailand and fly (private aviation not being permitted in China).

What are the most popular activities in Xiamen?

For Chinese (and sometimes me), eating out and KTV. Xiamen's beaches are also popular, and while hardly world class, are nonetheless among some of the best of China.

Which advice would you give to people wishing to live in Xiamen?

Just go with the flow. Xiamen will be different to cities in your own country, although many things are pretty well universal. Just adjust/adapt to where you are, and get on with life. Xiamen is one of the better places to live in China, and although it is more expensive than most places, it is not a bad place to live. English is becoming more widely spoken (although a lot of Chinese still don't speak English), and Chinese are generally friendly and helpful to foreigners. In common with the rest of China, it is also a very safe city.