A Decade in Shanghai: From a 'Pilgrimage' to a Home

A decade ago, a casual remark at a London law firm partner's water cooler suggested I needed 'international exposure' and pointed to China. The implication that my professional credibility required a pilgrimage to Asia, despite never having set foot there, struck a nerve. It echoed a familiar, unwelcome refrain: 'go back to where you came from.'

So, I booked a flight, intending a three-month stint in Shanghai for professional development. A decade and five cities later, I'm still here. Shanghai has transformed itself multiple times, and so have my own expectations of a stable, linear future. The hyper-independent eldest immigrant daughter syndrome that once shaped my ambitions has dissipated.

In the UK, I was a statistic, a minority within a minority, my British Vietnamese-Cantonese-Hakka heritage making me virtually invisible. Growing up, China was a cautionary tale from older generations who had left in the 1970s, viewing the mainland as chaotic and impoverished – a place to escape from. Moving here shattered those inherited preconceptions. This city, and this country, have become my home, offering a sense of belonging I never anticipated.