Overseas edition of People’s Daily
Page 10, September 26, 2019
In an office on the first floor of Qingdao German Enterprise Center stands an eye-catching tall lady with neat short hair. She is Kerstin Kaehler from Hamburg, Germany, head of Qingdao German Enterprise Center. “There’s a problem with my waist so I stand while working. This is much easier for me.” She explained with a smile on her face.
German as she is, she speaks fluent Chinese. She has lived in China for 21 years and in Qingdao for 3 years.
Her story with China goes back to her middle school years.
In 1990, she went to China for the first time to take part in an exchange program as a middle school student from Hamburg. “Back then I found China a place full of development opportunities. Ever since, I have been working hard in order to come to China for higher education”, she introduces. In 1995 when she studied in college, she got a chance to get on a student exchange program to Nanchang University. In that year she visited Qingdao for the first time as a tourist, which marks the beginning of her love story with Qingdao. “I spent three days visiting some of Qingdao’s attractions. Qingdao is very similar to southern German cities. People here were warm and friendly. They always have smiles on their faces.”
Her hard work finally paid off. Years later, after Kerstin graduated from Hochschule Ludwigshafen by the Rhein, she came to China and worked at Shanghai German Enterprise Center.
As more and more German enterprises are entering the Chinese market, the Center decided to open a branch in Qingdao. In 2016, Kerstin chose to leave Shanghai and work in Qingdao, which had left such a great impression on her.
German Enterprise Center is inside the Sino-German Ecopark. Kerstin and her colleagues’ office is on the first floor. There are four workstations in this clean and bright office of over 100 m2 where a meeting table is right in the center. “Our main mission is to help German companies understand Qingdao and establish business presence here. We provide them with services such as office rental, recruitment and plant construction”, says Kerstin.
Since the inauguration of the Qingdao West Coast New Area, Kerstin almost never stops working. The busy work gives her a great sense of fulfillment. Till now, German Enterprise Center has introduced seven Fortune Global 500 companies and 16 invisible champions from Germany to the Ecopark, including Blüthner, a highly respected German piano company and Siempelkamp, an invisible champion with 125 years of history which stamps core components for F35 fighter jets of the US.
Outside of work, Kerstin enjoys life in Qingdao very much.
In January 2018, she became one of the first residents in the Passive Home Experience Center. “The house saves much energy. You don’t need A/C in summer or heating in winter. The room temperature stays at 22 ºC all year round.” The beach is Kerstin’s favorite place for an outing. Every weekend, she would go for a walk on the Golden Beach and then read books or write poems in a café where she can fully relax.
Three years is a short time. But Kerstin has already accumulated many heartwarming memories here. “The most unforgettable thing is once a taxi driver refused to accept my fare after knowing that I have stayed in China for more than 20 years. He said thank you to me for giving my best years to China.” Kerstin says emotionally, “In deed, I have to thank this place and thank Qingdao. It is China that has made my life so wonderful.”
