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A group of swans swim in Chao Lake, which is one of the China's largest fresh-water lakes and located in the southwestern part of Hefei, Anhui province. (PHOTO: VCG)

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Nine years ago, Christian Lee had never heard of Hefei, capital city of China's Anhui province. But with a thirst for adventure and a desire to work in an international school, Lee eagerly set his sights on Hefei.

"Now, it's a place that I call home," said Lee, vice principal of Elementary and Primary Years Programme Coordinator at Canada International School of Hefei (CISH). Lee is raising a family in the city and his daughter is studying at CISH.

In recent years, a growing number of international talents like Lee have chosen to live in Hefei as they see the the city's potential. Hefei was also recognized as one of the most attractive cities in the eyes of foreign experts from 2019 to 2021, according to the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs.

A comfortable place to live

Foreigners who have livd in Hefei for many years say they are very impressed by the city's rapid development and that they have witnessed significant changes in the city.

When Low Jing Xiang from Malaysia first came to Hefei, he found that there was no subway. Today, however, there are 14 subway systems in the city. "It's a big change," said Low. The infrastructure of the city has been continuously improving, said Low, who worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) from 2018 to 2021. Currently, he serves as a research associate of USTC.

Shao Jian, CHO of Volkswagen (Anhui) Automotive Company Ltd., revealed that some overseas employees who had living experiences in Beijing or Shanghai say that Hefei surprised them in how international it is. Their life in Hefei is very convenient, and it is a green city with a pleasant living environment, said Shao.

Hefei has many parks that were built over the past decade, including Hefei Swan Lake and Xiaoyaojin Park. The southwestern part of the city is home to one of the China's largest fresh-water lakes — Chao Lake.

Tilly Erguder, principal of Middle/High School at CISH, believes that Hefei is a safe city. She came to Hefei with her son, and is not concerned with him hanging out at night or going by walks by herself in the evening. It's not so easy to find a safe city in any part of the world nowadays, said Erguder.

A city of sci-tech innovation

From a professional point of view, Stanley Lim thought moving to Hefei would be worthwhile for his career. "My endeavor in wide-band gap semiconductor nanotechnology matches Hefei's aspiration to develop same industry," said Lim.

Lim serves as the director and founder of wide-band gap semiconductor research center of China-Europe Electronic Materials International Innovation Center, a novel research and development institution founded by Hefei Municipal Government, Administration of Hefei National Hi-Tech District and Hefei Institutes of Physical Science at Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Hefei is known as the national pilot city in science-technology innovation and the national base of research and education due to its strong R&D and learning institutions.

The local government puts a lot of efforts into push forward the development of the hi-tech institutions and companies and gives them strong support, said Low Jing Xiang.

Over the past decade, Hefei has made great progress in both economic growth and industrial development. Advanced manufacturing and hi-tech technology have become the "business cards" of Hefei as the city is leading in hi-tech fields such as new-energy vehicles and artificial intelligence, said Dr. Erwin Gabardi, CEO of Volkswagen Anhui, adding that it was a major factor in the company's decision to select Hefei as a site for its operations.

Gabardi said he is thankful for favorable investment policies and market environment created by the local government for foreign enterprises. The government has also provided attractive policies to support Volkswagen Anhui to recruit and cultivate more talents.

On April 18, Volkswagen Group announced that it will invest around one billion euros to set up a new company called 100% TechCo in Hefei, focusing on electric vehicle development, innovation and sourcing.

It is expected that more foreign talents will join the global community in Heifei.