Windy Shao

    windysjf@hotmail

    GERMAN Angelo Michael Favaro came to Shenzhen eight years ago and has felt at home in the city since then.

    He was impressed when he first came to the city in October 2006.

    “I took a ferry from Hong Kong to Shekou port. It was a beautiful day, there was sunshine, palm trees everywhere, blue skies. I was very, very deeply impressed. I didn’t know anything about China before. There was a big question mark as I was not sure what I could expect. Then I was positively surprised.”

    He stayed at a hotel in Overseas Chinese Town for a week and was surprised by the hotel’s Italian scenes — the decorations, songs and uniforms were all familiar to him as his father is Italian.

    He first worked as a restaurant manger and opened his own restaurant in Shekou a year ago.

    He said the reason for him staying in the city so long was its energy.

    “There is a lot of passion, a lot of dreams here. People here are open-minded. I am proud to be part of that. People come here for the opportunity to make something out of their life. The energy of the city is very vibrant.”

    He noticed many changes here, citing the lunar new year as an example.

    “Many people went back to their hometowns for the Chinese new year eight years ago, and now many parents come to the city to stay with their children for the festival,” Angelo said.

    “People came from everywhere to the city, now I can feel they are very proud of Shenzhen.

    “People like it because it is a real city, not just a place to make money.”

    When he decided to open his own restaurant here, he convinced his father to come to Shenzhen to help run his business.

    Angelo is satisfied with his restaurant in Shekou and plans to stay here longer and open more businesses.

    He likes to play golf, soccer and tennis during his spare time.

    “Shenzhen is an amazing place for golf. There are so many golf courses.”

    He joined a soccer league in Shekou, playing once a week.

    “It is a 12-team league, starting from March to October.”

    The young man also likes diving and goes to Thailand and Malaysia regularly to dive.

    Angelo joked that his only complaint here is the cleaning cars’ music, which he wakes up to every morning.

    “It’s the same melody for eight years, can they change the music?”