Professor Franz Gadermann presents the biography of German Sinologist Richard Wilhelm at a discussion board in Qingdao University of Science and Technology, in Qingdao City, Shandong Province, on September 5 (YIN KANG)
When discussing cross-cultural communication, Frances Owen, an American instructor at Ocean University of China, referenced the guide The Hero’s Journey. “Everyone who embarks on a cross-cultural journey is a hero in their own right,” she advised Beijing Review.
Back in 1998, when Owen determined to go away the U.S. for China alone, her motivation was easy: As the youngest youngster in her household, she had at all times been well-protected, and this time, she wished to show to herself that she may tackle a important problem—constructing a life and profession in China.
At the time, virtually everybody round her thought she was loopy. “They told me I didn’t speak Chinese, wouldn’t be able to adjust to the food, didn’t know a single Chinese person and would never last,” she stated.
Where the guts is
Owen initially selected to show in Yantai, Shandong Province in east China, moderately than Beijing or Shanghai as a result of she genuinely wished to expertise how peculiar Chinese folks lived outdoors main metropolitan areas. Her early days in Yantai had been certainly robust: She spoke no Chinese however was keen to speak with folks; she struggled with vastly completely different way of life habits and usually cried herself to sleep at evening.
What helped her persevere via these tough instances and in the end determine to remain had been the Chinese associates she met. They warmly provided assist, patiently launched her to Chinese tradition; and via their kindness, she developed a deep reference to China. She discovered shut Chinese associates she may open up to and turned like household to 3 Chinese households.
After leaving Yantai, Owen labored in Dalian, Liaoning Province, northeast China, and Shanghai. She taught at Dalian Maritime University and later labored as a coach in Shanghai, guiding international academics who had newly arrived in China. Her journey in China has at all times adopted the shoreline. “My mother loves the ocean,” she stated. “I grew up by the sea in California, and in China I also chose coastal cities—it feels like I’ve maintained a certain connection with my family this way.”
Now settled in Qingdao, she feels extra at residence there than in any earlier metropolis. “It’s hard to describe—it’s more like an inner certainty. No matter where I go, when I return to Qingdao, I truly feel I’m home,” she stated. Through self-study, she has change into fluent in Chinese and plans to dwell in China long run.
She has developed a growing love for conventional Chinese clothes and another facets of the tradition. A minor frustration is that she remains to be usually mistaken for a vacationer. “Many foreigners who have lived long term in China wish to be seen as part of the community here, not as ‘outsiders.’ I may look Western, but inside, I already have a Chinese heart.”
Home away from residence
Like Owen, Professor Franz Gadermann at Qingdao University of Science and Technology (QUST) additionally moved to China over twenty years in the past. Now 68, Gadermann has taught on the Sino-German Technical College of the college for 24 years. The faculty, established in 2001, is a larger education challenge below the academic cooperation framework between the Chinese and German governments.
When the faculty was based, Gadermann, then a senior German language knowledgeable at Paderborn University in Germany, relocated to China to contribute to its growth. Prior to this, he had taught at Paderborn University for over 20 years and had lengthy harbored a dream of educating overseas. Seizing the chance when QUST was recruiting German academics, he and his household arrived in Qingdao in 2001, the place they’ve remained ever since.
Five years in the past, his son, Anouar Gadermann, additionally joined the Sino-German Technical College, educating alongside his father. Fluent in Chinese, Anouar Gadermann usually interprets for his father. “My grandfather and parents were all teachers. Growing up in that environment inspired me, and I’m honored to have become a teacher myself—and finally, a colleague of my father’s,” he stated.
Franz Gadermann has authored a guide Mein Qingdao (My Qingdao), documenting his experiences and reflections on educating and residing in China since 2001. The manuscript is at the moment below assessment by a writer. “I hope this book can convey Sino-German friendship and show more young Germans the real China,” he stated.
Professor Naser Golsanami conducts analysis in a laboratory at Shandong University of Science and Technology in Qingdao, Shandong, in November 2024 (COURTESY PHOTO)
A decade-long bond
Also residing in Qingdao is Professor Naser Golsanami from Iran, now at Shandong University of Science and Technology (SDUST), who first arrived in 2014 as a part of a main historic alternative, created by a Belt and Road Initiative cooperation challenge. He pursued his Ph.D. at China University of Petroleum (East China) and started educating at SDUST in 2019. Currently, he serves as a professor on the Key Laboratory of Mine Disaster Prevention and Control and the College of Energy and Mining Engineering.
In Golsanami’s view, Qingdao will not be solely a well-known coastal metropolis but in addition a thriving hub for technological innovation and alternate. “If your impression of Qingdao is still only sunshine, beaches and seafood, it might be time for an update. The city’s rapid development in sci-tech innovation has given it a new identity—one that resonates not just across China, but throughout member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO),” he remarked on September 4 after attending the launch ceremony of the China-SCO Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Center in Qingdao.
As a important final result of the SCO Tianjin Summit 2025, which was held on August 31-September 1, the middle in Qingdao goals to serve as a key hub for scientific cooperation amongst SCO member states, specializing in enhancing alternate, advancing joint analysis and growth, bettering expertise switch providers, and establishing a world assume tank for coverage assist.
Golsanami stated he believes that the institution of the middle is a results of long-term and steadfast assist for technological innovation by each Shandong and Qingdao, as effectively as the exceptional achievements already made on this area. He himself is each a witness to and an lively participant in worldwide scientific cooperation on this dynamic surroundings.
Golsanami, as an knowledgeable in geological sources and geological engineering, has revealed over 60 papers in high-level journals and has led or participated in seven analysis initiatives. He notably highlighted how China’s dedication to technological innovation is mirrored in its coverage, such as the brand new Okay-visa scheduled to be launched on October 1, designed particularly for younger scientific expertise. This visa affords better comfort when it comes to variety of entries, validity interval and period of keep—a transfer that, in his phrases, “demonstrates China’s sincerity and efficiency in attracting international talent.”
Golsanami continues to deal with scientific alternate and cooperation. “As a core SCO city, Qingdao is poised to become a vital hub for enhancing collaboration and accelerating the transformation of scientific achievements among member states,” he stated. BR
(Reporting from Qingdao, Shandong Province)
(Print Edition Title: Integration and Innovation)
Copyedited by G.P. Wilson
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