Welcome to my Shenzhen blog! I am a British law graduate from the University of Southampton and I have been living in China for 10 months studying Chinese at Tianjin University. Each week in this blog I will present my life in Shenzhen as an intern and representative of CRCC Asia in China. I have lived in China and Hong Kong before, so I have had a flavour of what living in China is like already. Shenzhen is a new and exciting place for me to commence my internship and explore a new and exciting part of China, and I look forward to sharing my insights to life here.

I arrived on a glorious Thursday full of anticipation. From the outset Shenzhen is somewhat muggy and has a very high humidity compared to Tianjin in the North of China. I travelled from the airport very cheaply using a free bus service from the airport to the metro, and then a one hour metro ride to Haiyue station which conveniently is a fifteen minute walk from Apartment One where the interns live.

 Apartment One is a newly redecorated living complex with high-end appliances and fully furnished rooms complete with modern furniture and utensils. There are nice plantings inside a secure gated community with an array on facilities such as a free gym, convenience shop and restaurant. It is located in Shekou, approximately a five-minute walk from a shopping complex, which consists of a mall with nice shops and restaurants and WallMart for all shopping conveniences. I was pleasantly surprised at how nice the apartment is. It is one of the few times in my life where the apartment actually looks like the photo the company or accommodation service sent me. When I arrived, the staff and a CRCC member welcomed me and showed me to my room and they were super friendly and accommodating.

On the Friday, CRCC had an introductory day at a hotel, we got a chance to meet all the interns, listen to some helpful and insightful speeches on life in China and the best way to get the most out of our time in China. There was also a beginner’s Chinese course, which was a perfect way to introduce the language. The information pack CRCC provided us with has been most useful and they also provided us with a Shenzhen guide, Chinese mobile sim card, business card and travel card to use on the Shenzhen buses and metro.

The weekend consisted of settling in and exploring Shenzhen. I visited Shenzhen International Garden and Expo Park with its beautiful pagoda, ate at some great restaurants and visited Sea World, a nice area with cool bars and restaurants.

My first week at my internship company has been amazing. UGARI is a Spanish company, and they have been specialising in purchase management and supplier development in China for more than 6 years. They search for the targeted product and/or supplier, follow up closely with orders, oversee production, quality and logistics, and even put the products in their clients’ stores if required. My job involves project development. I have been assigned some companies dealing in coffee and candy and to research different Asia markets and assist the companies in breaking into the Asian markets.

The company consists of three Spanish employees and one Chinese employee. They have been helpful in welcoming me into the company and working with Chinese has given me the chance to practice my Chinese and really enjoy myself. They also very kindly gave me a bike, which has kept me fit and cut my journey time so I am now only ten minutes away from the office to Apartment One. In addition, they have given me an hour and half off for lunch, which gives me a chance to try Chinese cuisine and explore the surrounding areas.

After work has been tiring but I have kept up with my Chinese by studying a little in the evenings and making Chinese friends in Shenzhen, as well as eating great food!

Overall my first week has been fabulous, it has been the ideal start. The Chinese people I have met have been friendly and very welcoming. Plus, CRCC has been fantastic in their help and making myself and many of the interns settle in.

I am thoroughly looking forward to next week.