The launch of Pingshan International Block, the first of its kind in Pingshan District, is an innovative and trailblazing practice. The subdistrict office has choreographed the international block as a featured community with a livable environment, an advanced governance model and favorable services for overseas talents.

Jane from Russia (L) and Samuel Sadiq from Germany, who are both residents of Pingshan International Block, pose for a photo with signage of the Pingshan International Talent Community on Dec. 10, 2022. Photo by Wang Haolan

Home away from home in the heart of Pingshan

An exciting day trip around the block includes stops at Pingshan Library, Pingshan Art Museum, Pingshan Central Park and Pingshan Theater — for an evening show. These facilities highlight Pingshan International Block and are enjoyed by all of its residents.

In addition to the Pingshan Culture Center and the central park, the international block features a convenient public transport network woven together by Pingshan Railway Station, Metro Lines 14 and 16, Pingshan SkyShuttle, Pingshan City Terminal, Nanping Expressway, Pingyan Passage and driverless taxis. It also has sports facilities such as Pingshan Sports Center, Pingshan International Tennis Center and Pingshan Soccer Park, as well as an expat-friendly healthcare system featuring Pingshan People’s Hospital and Shenzhen Samii International Medical Center.

A staffer welcomes an expat at a service counter of the Pingshan Subdistrict Management and Service Center for Expats. Photo courtesy of Pingshan Subdistrict Office

The Pingshan Subdistrict Management and Service Center for Expats was established in July 2021 to improve services for expats. It currently collaborates with government agencies including community management centers, Shenzhen Municipal Public Security Bureau Pingshan Branch and Shenzhen Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs to provide 17 services such as passport registration, residence and work permit application, driving license application and pet registration.

An Indian expat who identified himself as Jay spoke highly of the international block’s services at the "Live Pingshan, Live Global" story-sharing session held Dec. 10, 2022 at the Pingshan Subdistrict Management and Service Center for Expats. Jay, a senior CAE (Computer Aided Engineering) specialist at BYD, said that he lives with his family here and the Pingshan International Block staff members "take care of us like their families, giving us a sense of safety and feeling of home.”

Participants of the "Live Pingshan, Live Global" story-sharing session pose for a photo at the Pingshan Subdistrict Management and Service Center for Expats on Dec. 10, 2022. Photo by Wang Haolan

An international community shared by all

For Jesse Guimaraes, who is the vice president of the Bracham Association of Brazilian Businesses, what impressed him most at the international block is the richness of expat-related events. He recalled a plogging (clean up while jogging) event to Maluan Mountain Park the international block organized in April 2022, where the Brazilian collected garbage en route, experienced a traditional Chinese tea ceremony and learned about the history of Gengzi Uprising together with some 20 local and foreign participants.

The plogging event was an edition of the “EYE Pingshan”-themed activities. Hosted by the Pingshan Subdistrict Office, the project was curated to enhance the cultural exchanges between the block’s local and expat residents, to help foreigners better understand Pingshan District’s history and culture, and to get them more involved in the local community. Past “EYE Pingshan” events included Chinese music and literature experiences, an outdoor concert, an international food festival and a world culture exhibition.

Jesse Guimaraes (1st L) and other participants of the plogging event to Maluan Mountain Park pose for a group photo. Photo courtesy of Pingshan Subdistrict Office

The international block also holds themed events on major Chinese festivals, bilingual salons, English corners and lectures on expat-related policies in China. An international volunteer team was established in September 2021 to involve expats into the international block’s grassroots governance. The team has contributed to the block’s cultural exchanges, environmental protection and epidemic prevention and control work.

Dr. Kamal Panchal from India, executive director of the Asia-Pacific Model United Nations and a speaker at the story-sharing session, has been serving as a member of the team. “The district’s foreign affairs office and international community office are really active in organizing volunteering events,” he said. “During my first month in Pingshan, I started volunteering in different activities such as planting trees and helping with nucleic acid tests in the community.”

Residents talk at the "Live Pingshan, Live Global" story-sharing session held at the Pingshan Subdistrict Management and Service Center for Expats on Dec. 10, 2022. Photo by Wang Haolan

An ideal destination for overseas talents

International talents all agree that they are attracted to Pingshan because of its available job opportunities, business environment and promising future.

According to Samuel Sadiq from Germany and a teacher at Shenzhen Technology University (SZTU), he relocated to Pingshan in 2018 and it happened “by accident” from a “naïve online search” for German teachers in Shenzhen. “It started when my wife, who studied environmental engineering, found a job in Shenzhen,” Sadiq said. “We were thinking about moving to China and I thought perhaps I could find a job as a German teacher. I searched the internet and SZTU turned up.”

Expats pose for a photo at a bilingual salon held at Pingshan International Block. Photo courtesy of Pingshan Subdistrict Office

For Guimaraes, who first visited China in 2012 and lived in Shanghai for five years before moving to Shenzhen in 2019, his relocation to Pingshan was propelled by an opportunity to start his own business. “In 2019, a friend invited me to move to Pingshan, where I can set up my own business,” he said.

As a rising destination for international talents and entrepreneurs, Pingshan Subdistrict launched its International Talent Community on Oct. 31, 2020. The talent community, located in Xinhe Community, has a welcome desk, an activity room and some exhibition areas, and serves as a venue for international talents to exchange and communicate with each other, as well as to seek help and advice from the subdistrict government.

A group photo of the international volunteer team of Pingshan International Block. Photo courtesy of Pingshan Subdistrict Office

Panchal is optimistic about Pingshan’s future. “As you can see, many biomedicine companies are coming to Pingshan District, which attracts international talents,” he said. “Pingshan also has more available land areas than other areas in Shenzhen. International schools may also come to the district. I think in the future, more and more foreigners will choose to live in Pingshan.”