New Shanghai expat help centre needs more volunteers

Adjusting to life in China is about to get a whole lot easier for expats in Shanghai.

Shanghai’s Hongqiao district is home to some 16,000 plus foreigners, many of whom are new to expat life in China. They’re now the lucky ones, as the Hongqiao Foreigner Talent Service Centre had its official opening ceremony on Saturday. The new centre is a one-stop shop for all expat needs, from work permit applications, required certificates, visa extensions, residence permits and other essentials to legal consultations, advice on childrens’ education, medical services, accommodation and much, much more. The centre is staffed by expat volunteers as well as Chinese nationals, and more foreign helpers are being recruited via a special recruitment centre.

Cultural activities will be held regularly and a foreign language service station is a welcome addition for those starting business as it gives advice on import and export procedures. Volunteers will work with immigration, human resources and the police, and the new centre is one of several being established in areas were there’s a strong foreign presence in the hope that expats will be able to settle in more easily and enjoy their time in Shanghai.

Given China’s exploding popularity amongst expat entrepreneurs, tech sector talent and teachers of English, centres of this type are a huge help to new arrivals, especially as Standard Chinese is one of the world’s most difficult languages to master. Getting an understanding of and respect for Chinese culture is also important in order to achieve success in business, and Chinese bureaucracy is the hardest nut to crack without help from those who’ve been there and done that. It’s to be hoped that other major Chinese cities now popular as expat destinations will set up similar centres aimed at solving new arrivals’ initial problems.