Chongqing- This Spring Festival, the workers of enterprises and institutions in Chongqing have been encouraged to spend the new year in the local area so that everybody can safely enjoy the holiday as epidemic control and prevention measures continue.

As the business environment becomes ever more optimal for overseas enterprise, 296 of the world’s Fortune 500 companies had settled in Chongqing as of year’s end 2020.

Now the Spring Festival is almost here, how do the many overseas staff they employ in Chongqing plan to spend the national holiday?

Honda and Deloitte are two major corporations that have settled in Chongqing. Three high profile foreign staff members kindly accepted the invitation to share their plans for the Spring Festival and their views on Mountain City life.

Chongqing can learn from Japan in sorting household waste.

Fukushima Toyofumi hopes Chongqing can learn from Japan as the city continues to develop rapidly.

Fukushima Toyofumi has worked as the sales department manager for Honda in Chongqing. He spoke about his impressions of the city, practices people can learn from Japan, and plans for spending the new year's holiday.

“The people of Chongqing have a careful and diligent attitude towards work, while I really admire the speed and efficiency with which the government departments handle matters.”

“Having lived in Chongqing for four years, the speed of development means he has already witnessed many great changes in such a relatively short span of time, on both a personal and city-wide level.”

“Changes and improvements are going on every day, and rapid development is taking place in all aspects of life.”

“I think Chongqing can learn from Japan in the practice of sorting household waste. At primary schools, children train to sort waste through approaching the matter in a game format; then they can teach elders how to do it properly at home.”

“This habit must be fostered from scratch on all levels in various ways, and is important if Chongqing wants to lead as a forefront city in civilized waste management.”

“My plan for this Spring Festival is to stay in Chongqing and experience the atmosphere and customs.”

“I haven’t thought yet about which year goods to buy. I’ll go to some of the commercial centers of Yuzhong District once the holiday has begun for me.”

“I wish Chongqing a prosperous new year of the ox!”

People are always so friendly and hospitable!

Zhang Peng Loves the magical skyline of Mountain City combined with developed infrastructure.

Zhang Peng is the vice manager and associate partner to Deloitte West China. He is from Hong Kong and has lived and worked in Chongqing for 11 years since he assisted the management in establishing their office here back in 2009.

He shared positive experiences of handling business affairs with government departments in Chongqing and then spoke about his favorite qualities he sees in Mountain City and what he plans to do for the Spring Festival.

“Government departments are very efficient, so handling business matters don’t require many errands, and the time needed to complete them has been drastically reduced.”

“Setting up a business is very convenient since Chongqing implemented one-stop procedures that can be completed in a single working day.”

“Chongqing has also set up a complete e-returns platform, so now the time needed for corporate tax returns has more than halved.”

“There are many qualities I love about Mountain City, such as the magical 8D skyline, dramatic night view, the mountains and rivers, good air quality, the level of greenery, and places to experience history and nature, such as the Mountain City Walkway.”

“The transportation city is well developed, and the infrastructure has many additions such as the river bridges, cableway, ferries, and public escalators.”

“There are many commercial districts where it is easy to do shopping. The hospitals are modern and well equipped, and you always feel safe out and about.”

“People are always very friendly and hospitable, and there’s such a great variety of cuisine to enjoy.”

“I have ordered some food hampers that people from Hong Kong and Macau love to buy in advance of the Spring Holiday each year. I have also bought plenty of fruit.”

“Online shopping is very easy in Chongqing, and I’ve heard that many deliverymen won’t be getting much rest over the holiday period, so I’d really like to pay my respects to them!”

Learning Mahjong in the Spring Festival helped me make a lot of friends!

Chen Lirong learned to play mahjong when a colleague invited him to their family reunion dinner.

Chen Lirong is a senior auditing manager at the Deloitte Chongqing Branch. He is from Taiwan and has worked in the city since 2019.

He spoke about his impressions of the Chinese New Year, fond memories of the festival in previous years, and how he plans to spend the holiday this year in Chongqing.

“I really like the atmosphere of family reunions over the Chinese New Year. The temple visits are a particularly strong impression I have of the holiday, as you can gain a real sense of Chinese culture and learn more about their customs. There’s also lots of great food on offer!”

“An unforgettable time was being invited by a colleague to join his family reunion dinner for the Spring Festival. After dinner, everybody ate seeds, watched the New Year Gala, and my colleague also taught me how to play mahjong.”

“Mahjong is not only great entertainment, but it’s also a skill that helps you make lots of new friends and integrate well into social circles.”

“This year, I’ve ordered a sumptuous new year dinner online, so I needn’t go out. The service is very convenient, and suits somebody like myself who loves good food, but doesn’t know how to cook well. I’ve also ordered plenty of snacks, fruit, and local specialties, such as cherries, seafood, sausage, and cured pork.”

“My plan for this Spring Festival is to stay in Chongqing with my friends for dinner and watch the New Year Gala. Since the government has brought out prevention and control measures, it’s not so convenient to go out traveling.”

“I can also take the chance to learn more of the Chongqing dialect from my local colleagues!”