AFTER staying in Shenzhen for nearly five years, Priyasha Sharma from Mumbai, India, said: “It is just hard for me to leave the city now.”

“Sometimes, I forgot that I am living in a foreign country. I think Shenzhen becomes a place I would definitely call home,” she said.

Sharma speaks fluent Chinese, has obtained a Chinese driver’s license and sometimes drives her car across the city without using a map app. On weekends, she likes to visit Internet-famous coffee shops with friends. It seems that you have every reason to believe that the young Indian has been so connected with the city.

Priyasha Sharma. Photos courtesy of the interviewee

Sharma graduated from Shenzhen University (SZU) with a bachelor’s degree in international economics and trade last year and she is ready for her master’s degree program on international management at SZU this fall.

“I didn’t think of Shenzhen when I was preparing for my college application. I thought about other places like London. But my dad who started his business in Shenzhen in 1997 invited me to visit Shenzhen in 2014, and that’s when I changed my mind and decided to attend a university in Shenzhen.”

Sharma is currently working at Sinobright Pharma, a Shenzhen-based trade company in the active pharmaceutical ingredients industry, where she is responsible for the company’s purchase and sales in India.

Sharma poses for photo at a talent introduction event.

“Most of my colleagues are Chinese, so I always tell them to speak with me in Chinese. I want to seize every chance to practice my Chinese.”

While at college, Sharma also did an internship at a trade company in Bao’an District. “I have gained different experience in the trading industry." She said, "I value the role of working experience, which is also the reason why I took a gap year to work before furthering my studies."

When describing Shenzhen, Sharma used the phrase — a city of dreams.

“You can find opportunities in almost every field and meet people with different backgrounds. People in Shenzhen are very open-minded,” she said.

On April 21, Sharma was invited to attend an event called the Third Talents in Shenzhen ? The Trip of Overseas Specialists to Shenzhen in Nanshan District, where she learned stories from young entrepreneurs in different circles on how they started up their businesses.

Sharma said that she aims to become a young and successful entrepreneur just like them.

“I will surely stay in Shenzhen after I have finished my master’s degree program," she said. My future plan is to take over my dad’s company and also start my own business in Shenzhen.”

Editor/Wei Jie

WeChat Editors/Holly, Jane