I had been running a relatively successful small language and business skills school and consultancy in Budapest for over seven years, having localized in Hungary following my posting there as an executive for a United Kingdom-owned media company. After many years of living overseas, I was used to change and adapting to local cultures. However, the change that was coming was neither predicted nor planned. Following the global economic recession of 2007, I had to consider my options as my school was heavily reliant on corporate clients. My wife had suggested that I consider another country, as Hungary was small and limited in opportunities. As a result, we started to investigate global areas of growth. China was leading the way in terms of growth and opportunities. I decided to continue within the education sector, especially as my background was in demand.
Having realized that most academic institutes used "agents" for their recruitment purposes, I finally found a couple of agents I could work with, and the offers started coming in. As our communication was done via "Skype" and given time differences, we often heard Skype notifications going off during our sleep!
After a few weeks, I narrowed down my options based on my connection with potential employers, the offers they provided, and the support available. Ultimately, the decision was made for me when the director of a vocational college in Wuxi consistently approached me. Upon further investigation, I found that its location, proximity to nature, and the blend of city life, as well as its relative closeness (on the map anyway) to Shanghai, were all positive signs. According to online sources, Wuxi was the "Geneva of China", given its location and proximity to Taihu Lake. So, in concept at least, Wuxi sounded promising.
Making these kinds of life decisions can usually be based around some form of life experience as well as interest in culture and orientation; however, in my case, primarily based around a more Eurocentric outlook, the broader concept of Asia and more specifically China was well outside of this view. However, I have learned that it is sometimes important to step outside our comfort zones to make progress.
After discussing the role and details with my family, it was agreed that I would go on my own for the first few months to see whether I like the role and situation, rather than disrupting my daughter's schooling and my wife's business.
There are many things to share in such a self reflection of my Chinese experience, not withstanding the long haul flight (over 15 hours) of which I had never experienced before, the collection at Shanghai airport by a kind elderly lady who literally grabbed all of my cases and marched me into her car without any discussion and then spent the entire three hour journey randomly honking her car horn whilst I was jolted in the rear seat in a state ranging shock, disbelief at the sheer scale, landscape, lack of sleep as well as the ladies' driving skills!
Upon arrival in Wuxi, I was taken to my accommodation which was, as luck would have it, within a compound next to the lake. I continued to stare on in disbelief as we approached a series of barriers with guards. As we drove through the compound, I noticed with excitement that there were private villas, tennis courts as well as a swimming pool. It appeared I had chosen well indeed!
After the first few weeks of orienting myself to the sheer scale and size of my immediate environment, I began to get a feel and understanding of how different this was from anything I had previously experienced.
The core values of Western life were almost opposites in China, especially in attitudes towards help, kindness, and friendliness to strangers. I have many examples of near collapse due to my inability to communicate and understand what was being explained. One such example I will share clarifies an entirely different approach to life.
During my first few weeks, I had been directed to an international supermarket to stock up on furnishings and basic items for the apartment. Upon arrival, I loaded a trolley with the necessary items. After a period of time and a fully stacked trolley, I began to look for the checkout, which I discovered was on another floor. As I started to unload the conveyor belt items, which ironically wasn't moving, I understood that I had to move the items myself, which, although puzzling, I did as requested. Having then unloaded most of my items, I was told that I couldn't pay for all of the items in one place, and some of the selected items needed to be paid for at another checkout. I couldn't understand the logic nor believe that this was happening, and I started to lose control as I couldn't communicate or understand what to do. Seeing my frustration, one of the staff members tapped me on the shoulder, took the trolley down to the other floor, unloaded the items, packed them, and signaled me to follow her to the checkout to pay. Having completed the transaction, they called a taxi and helped me pack my goods into the car. I will never know whether this was to get me out of the store, but I have never experienced such kindness from total strangers.
In terms of new experiences during my stay in China and mostly in Wuxi, I was fortunate enough to be involved in many cultural events. I had the opportunity to read some of my poetry to a large, mostly bemused audience and was invited to help cook traditional Wuxi xianbing as a guest chef on Wuxi TV. Additionally, I attended the impressive Wuxi World Internet of Things Expo, hosted a cultural event in Wuxi, and discovered the joys of improv with an international group in Shanghai. I also launched one of my children's books and have been involved in a publishing opportunity with one of China's largest book publishers. So, all in all, quite some life opportunities that I was fortunate enough to have come my way during my time in China.
Mark Clifton at the China Shanghai International Children's Book Fair. [Photo provided to wuxi.gov.cn]
As for Wuxi as a location, there are many aspects to it that I enjoyed, for instance the contrast between traditional China — with its architecture, manicured parks, alleyways, and artifacts that give a real sense of walking within its historical environment — and its new world technology, with its skyscrapers, road and transport links, such as its amazing bullet trains that were on time, efficiently run, and with the ability to get to a destination hundreds of miles away in incredible times, such as Wuxi to central Shanghai in 45 minutes.
I also loved walking near the Taihu Lake and spent valuable hours with my daughter sharing stories. The lake was a central location for one of the books of our children's book series, created as a legacy project based on our time spent apart during our separation at the start of my journey in China and followed by further separation during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a precious time for her too, as she went to an international school near our complex, made friends from all over the world, and learned to speak Mandarin. This experience developed her broader global outlook.
Mark Clifton and his daughter. [Photo provided to wuxi.gov.cn]
After five years living in Wuxi, my outlook changed as my language skills developed, the environment became more familiar, and I started taking trips within China and the surrounding areas. All of this came to end however, as I had arranged a visit to my parents in the UK during the Chinese New Year just prior to the COVID. This was good in the sense that I was with my family during such a challenging time but sad in the sense that I never returned, leaving behind memories, friends, experiences, my trusted e-bike and most of my belongings in the process!
I will always look back fondly on my time spent in Wuxi, a city I was happy to call home, and maybe one day it will be again.
All good stories should have a satisfying and meaningful conclusion. In this case, I can happily report that I have since returned to Wuxi, albeit for a short visit but managed to catch up with friends and visit my favorite parts of the city once again and can report that all is as it was and that even my trusted e-bike was still safe in the garage!
The author, hailing from Britain, is an educator since 2003, working for higher education and professional training organizations.
If you would like to share your Wuxi stories, then send us your writings at wuxiexpatstories@outlook.com.
