Browsing through her favourite shops in Guanlan, near Shenzhen, Cindy Reid, has become accustomed to the feeling of having a hundred eyes focused on her. Being tall and blonde, she tends to stand out in the crowd.
Yet the American instructor at Mission Hills Golf Club wouldn't have it any other way. For her, the challenge of fitting into a new culture was part of the attraction of moving halfway across the world from Florida three years ago.
'I do have a lot of locals stare at me, but it's never mean or disrespectful,' Reid said. 'People are curious, but they are all very nice and polite and treat me very well.'
For 17 years, Reid was living the all-American dream as director of instruction at Tournament Players Club (TPC) at Sawgrass in Florida. That was until Mission Hills executive director Tenniel Chu convinced her to leave the security of the golfing mainstream for the sport's fast growing market in China.
More than a decade ago, Chu met Reid when he worked at TPC Sawgrass to learn every aspect of commercial golf: from course operations to the pro shop to food and beverage services. He invited Reid for annual trips to Mission Hills to conduct member clinics.
'Every time I came to visit, he would always try to get me to commit to moving here full-time and, finally, I said yes,' she recalled. 'It wasn't a hard decision. My golf business was doing fine, but there was no challenge and nowhere to grow. China held so much promise.'