If you search on the Internet for this, the first things that will pop up are: sauna, massage and KTV. Yes, unfortunately the Internet is right, these things do exist here in a larger proportion than other places inChina, probably because of the sudden growth in what used to be a small town.

On the other hand, if you search forBeijingon the Internet, the first thing that comes up is air pollution, and from my point of view this is a matter much more serious than prostitution.

If you ask me what is special about Dongguan, this is surely not what will come to my mind. I’m a Swiss citizen who came to visit China 14 years ago and settled in Dongguan about six years ago, to follow a family business in the leather sector, which is why I ended up here, in the world shoes capital.

I’m thankful to Dongguan/China for hosting me all these years and bringing me, my staff and the European companies I represent good business, but most important, for bringing me the best thing in life, a wife and a daughter, whom I love and cherish. Marrying a Chinese citizen helped me to understand this country, its culture, which is so different from mine and which I have learned to appreciate today.

I have seen Dongguan develop, so fast, to become a very modern city, with a lot of infrastructure to make daily life easier. This place has changed and is still under the process of changing. From a city where the people used to come to visit for business, to a city that became home to a lot a different people, who come from a lot of different cultures.

Dongguan is today an international city, with good potential to become an important city.

So you are still wondering, what’s so special about this place, well, nothing and everything. It has pollution, bad traffic and prostitution like a lot of places in the world. Unfortunately, it is the prostitution that retains the attention of everyone, but it could have also been its nice restaurants and bars or because of all the foreigners here, its diversity of cuisine (which all the people who come here really appreciate), or perhaps its new Swiss traditional chocolate shop called Edelchocolate. As a Swiss citizen, this is probably the most important thing that this city is hosting today. Recently this high-quality Swiss traditional chocolate shop opened here, and for a chocolate lover like me, this is the kind of experience that Dongguan can offer you today, a short trip around the world, where your eyes, mouth and body will be transported for a little while, as far as your imagination can bring you. This is something special this place has: diversity!

The speed of the city and the atmosphere is great to inspire business! Dongguan, likeChina, is going through impressive change, fast progress, which come with their good sides and their bad sides, and even with the best effort, not everything can be perfect. We can only admire what this country has become and trust in its future!

Personally I believe in it, that is why I encourage everyone to believe in this market and contribute to let the people dream, like I do in this chocolate shop.

Patrick Jutzeler from Switzerland