Thanks for the memories

[Zhang Chengliang/Shanghai Star]

Shanghai, China's financial and cultural powerhouse, is one of the most vibrant cities in the world. For me, it is more than that. This city brings many happy memories to me in the past few years.

Shanghai was my dream city, due in part to its artistic atmosphere and historical significance. My Shanghai story kicked off in the late summer of 2006 when I came here to start my university life. Shanghai Museum of Art and MOCA Shanghai were my favorite places to spend weekends. I enjoyed touching history through the development of architecture, combining Western and Chinese styles.

The most important and exciting point is that I was delighted to make lots of friends. They were from my hometown of Wenzhou in Zhejiang province.

I was born in Wenzhou, but grew up in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province. I was frustrated that people were telling me that Wenzhou people were everywhere, but I never met any in school. Fortunately I met them after I moved to Shanghai.

All of them were from different universities of Shanghai. We organized many activities and events together. For example, we invited Wenzhou students in Shanghai to visit Wenzhou companies and have conversations with the founders, so we had opportunities to learn the entrepreneurial spirit from them.

After spending three happy years in Shanghai, I left for the UK to continue my studies in 2009. When I returned to 'my dream city' after getting my master's degree in December 2011, I decided to start my career here.