Daniel Spencer began his career in Dongguan by creating his own brand at 24 years old.

　　Daniel Spencer comes from Chile in South America. The weather in his hometown is dry, so the humidity in south China’s Dongguan city has taken some getting used to. “For the first 6 months in Dongguan I just hung around by myself.” The city felt strange to Spencer when he first came. At first he had problems with the language, food and traffic but he soon fell in love with the city.

　　When Spencer first came to Dongguan, everything was new to him. He used to drink water without boiling it, but Chinese will always serve guests with hot tea. When he first tried traditional Chinese dishes, he found Hunan dishes too spicy and Cantonese dishes too sweet. When Spencer’s mother came to visit him in Dongguan, he took her to a Chinese restaurant but she was also unused to the Chinese style of cuisine. “I like salads. However, there is not a good variety in restaurants here,” said Spencer. Fortunately, Japanese and Korean food are easy to find in the city which he loves very much.

　　Spencer’s office hosts multiple shoe samples, so he doesn’t have to go to the Dongcheng shoe factory on weekdays. Instead he sits in front of his computer working on his to-do-list, wearing a white T-shirt from his own brand.

　　In his spare time, Spencer likes to ride his skateboard around in the streets and squares in Dongguan. He enjoys the flat roads when he skateboards in the city, and receives applause from passers-by. “In most countries, the police deter skateboarding in streets, giving warnings or cautions.” In Dongguan however, Spencer finds the citizens and government very friendly to foreigners.

　　After a year in Dongguan, Spencer finally began to understand some Chinese. Asking directions and making simple small-talk with taxi drivers became easier. He deliberately did not take any Chinese classes but made many Chinese friends.

　　“In the following years, I am going to stay in Dongguan to continue with my business.” Dongguan is Spencer’s first impression of life in China, and it is in fact because of Dongguan that he came to China.

　　(By Fiona Yip and Sev Pischl)