By Sun Shuangjie

A newly published Chinese-language book titled Americans in Shanghai offers proof that the city can be a land of opportunity not only for locals, but also for people from overseas. According to statistics from the Exit-Entry Administration Bureau of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, by the end of 2012, over 173,000 foreign nationals were registered as long-term inhabitants of the city, representing roughly one quarter of the nationwide figure and a 6.7 percent year-on-year rise from 2011.

The book, compiled by the Shanghai Institute of American Studies (SIAS), includes profiles of 29 US citizens who have been working and living in the city for years. Among them are Devon Nixon, grandnephew of former US president Richard Nixon and CEO of a Shanghai-based agricultural technology company; Jeffrey Lehman, vice chancellor of New York University Shanghai; Steve Kulich, director of the Intercultural Institute at Shanghai International Studies University; Nancy Merrill, former host of the talk show Minds of Millionaires; and Scott Minoie, founder and managing partner of Element Fresh. 

"We started off by interviewing more successful, well-known people, and that includes renowned diplomats, successful business owners and executives of big companies, and a number of winners of the Magnolia Award [the city's top honor for expats issued by the municipal government]," said Ye Jun, academic secretary of SIAS. 

The book project was first launched about two years ago, in the lead-up to the 40th anniversary of the Shanghai Communiqué (1972), and aims to showcase the contributions of American expats to Shanghai's development through human-interest stories, according to Ye, who interviewed and wrote profiles of 11 from the 29 Americans.

One of Ye's interviewees was Devon Nixon, who expressed his gratitude to the city's hospitable locals and shared his thoughts on the different competitive environments in China and the US. Nixon came to the city in 2008 and now is working on his Shanghai-based company, one of his three agricultural technology firms. 

Minoie started his restaurant business from scratch in 2001. Now Element Fresh has 17 branches in Shanghai, Beijing, Nanjing and Guangzhou serving fresh food to health-conscious foreigners and locals alike. The flexible and vibrant social circles in Shanghai, where, in Minoie's words, an English teacher can sit chatting with a senior manager of a company, is something he could not find in London or New York. 

"One of the things that almost all of the people who I interviewed said - I actually got a direct quote from one of them - was that Shanghai is a paradise for them," Ye told the Global Times. "Generally American expats have enjoyed wide respect, good pay and an easy way of life in China, while their Chinese counterparts in America may have a bitter version of the story to tell.

"By reading their stories, you can get a few tips on how to achieve your own success," said Ye. "And for Chinese readers, the book offers a fresh, new perspective of Shanghai's development, from the point of view of American nationals here, which can help them have a better understanding of what their city is like and how it's changing."

Ye said that she was struck by the Americans' gratitude to locals' hospitality and their fondness for Shanghai's narrow lanes and parks, where they can relax and find inner peace. 

SIAS is searching for organizations to translate the book into English, according to Ye. They plan to issue future editions, which will continue to reveal the life and work experiences of Americans in Shanghai. In the meantime, another book project called Shanghainese in America, which focuses on Americans who are originally from Shanghai or have strong connections with Shanghai, is currently in the works.

Link: http://globaltimes.cn/content/802232.shtml