An open door to success
Since the early 1990s, mainlanders have been allowed to visit other countries and experience what life is like overseas, thanks to the open-door policy. Now, that privilege is all too common and going abroad is just a matter of money.
Most young people who go overseas are financed by their parents so they can get an education and return to the mainland, where they can expect to secure a better job and higher standard of living. But for that first group of emigrants, going abroad was a sacrifice that offered little assurance of a successful future. In Guangzhou, many of these first emigrants have returned in recent years and are now running their own businesses. Their life overseas has not only given them new skills, but has influenced the way they do business, as well as their outlook on life.
'When I returned I first opened a cosmetics company,' said Sally Chan, 40, who also runs a successful Vietnamese restaurant. According to Ms Chan, she made friends with a Chinese-Vietnamese immigrant while living in Australia who introduced her to Vietnamese cuisine.
While living in Australia, she did a number of labour-intensive jobs, such as being a waitress in a Japanese restaurant, which taught her a number of valuable lessons. 'If I hadn't gone abroad, I would never have had the idea to open my own business,' said Ms Chan, who learned valuable management skills abroad. 'In Guangzhou, a lot of bosses just yell at the workers but they don't offer to give them a hand.'
Those who have lived abroad say they have also learned how to be more independent. 'When I lived at home I was very spoiled,' said Miya Zhang, 40, who opened her own coffee shop in Guangzhou after living in Japan for nine years. 'I didn't understand the value of money.'
For Ms Zhang, making a fortune is not top of her list. Unlike most people her age who are working to earn as much as they can, she wants to concentrate on creating an atmosphere that her clients will enjoy. 'People here think if you're not making 30-40,000 [yuan] a month, you're not really doing business, whereas for me if I make 10,000 a month I'm happy,' she said.
Language is the greatest advantage many have brought back with them. Jenny Zhang, who lived in Japan for seven years, is putting her skills to work. She runs a translation service, Canna City Consulting International, which now deals with Japanese clients coming to southern China to open factories. 'I think it was the right thing to go abroad,' says Ms Zhang, who is now a Canadian citizen but returned to Guangzhou for her children. 'You can see a lot of things when you live in another country.'
