【自2017年起，上海市人民政府外事办公室携手各区政府，举行“国际化的上海”系列推介活动，助推上海建设“五个中心”、卓越的全球城市和社会主义现代化国际大都市。  

继成功举办杨浦区、静安区推介后，2018年5月，系列活动将移师黄浦区。此次活动将凸显外滩金融集聚带优势，推介外滩滨江高端服务业创新发展示范区。为此，东方网记者专程采访了多位在黄浦区工作和生活的外籍友人，听他们娓娓道来与黄浦的不解之缘。】

   【Starting from 2017, the Shanghai Municipal Foreign Affairs Office, together with district governments, has started hosting the "Internationalized Shanghai Promotion Series" to help Shanghai turn itself into an international economic, financial, trade, shipping and technology innovation center, and become a global city of excellence and a modern socialist international metropolis. 

    Following the first two events in Yangpu and Jing'an District, this May, an event series will be held in Huangpu. The event will highlight the advantages of the financial agglomeration in the Bund area and promote the Innovation and Development Demonstration Area for the High-end Service Industry at Bund Waterfront. Eastday.com sat down with some expats who shared their stories of living and working in Huangpu.】

 外国友人在黄浦

 活跃在新天地社区的美籍“老娘舅”

    在新天地居委会，活泼爽朗的美籍画家王君姿女士热情地接受了我们的采访。

    王君姿在美国纽约长大，来上海之前，曾在曼哈顿第七大道从事衣料设计师的工作。1998年她随丈夫来到上海，其丈夫主持规划和设计了新天地的旧房改造项目，夫妇俩由此开启了在上海长达20年的生活。

    虽然王君姿会说、会写中文，但在刚来到这片陌生土地的时候，难免感到许多不适应。20年前新天地社区建设从零开始，一切都要学习摸索。20年间王君姿见证了上海翻天覆地的变化，并深深扎根在这座城市。她自豪地说：“我很高兴做一个新上海人，在国外时我更愿意说自己来自上海。”

 An American community service lover in Xintiandi

    At the Xintiandi neighborhood committee, we were very glad to have an interview with Annie Wong, who cheerfully greeted us at the office. As an American expat, Annie Wong was born in Taiwan and grew up in New York in the United States. She went into fashion business after graduation from a top art school in New York and worked as a textile designer on Seventh Avenue in Manhattan from the 1980s to early 1990s. She came to Shanghai in 1998, along with her husband, Mr. Albert Chan, an architect who went to work for Shui On Group in 1997 in Shanghai, leading the planning and design of the Xintiandi project, an iconic landmark in Huangpu today. 

    Despite the fact Annie can speak and read both English and Chinese, things weren’t easy for her when she first came to Shanghai, because everything had to be built from scratch here and the Xintiandi community was sparse 20 years ago and she had to “learn everything and build everything”. But now, Annie has seen all the changes that have taken place during these 20 years and set such deep roots in Shanghai that she is happy being a new Shanghainese and would prefer to be considered as coming from Shanghai when she travels to the rest of the world.  

公益达人和社区“老娘舅”

    20年来，王君姿在工作之余，以极大的热情投身到各类公益事业和社区志愿者服务中。她创办了公益性质的互动儿童探索馆，针对1到7岁幼儿提供各种寓教于乐的培育项目，让孩子“玩并学习着”，这是她一直以来所坚持的理念。

    她与上海美国妇女协会也有合作，通过艺术基金为民工子弟学校提供艺术、舞蹈和音乐等课程，让这些学校的孩子，通过定期上这些课程，陶冶情操、树立自信。

    热心公益之余，王君姿在社区服务方面倾注了极大心血。她曾长期担任翠湖天地业主协会主任一职近8年。因为为人热情随和，会讲多种语言，并且和社区居委、派出所等合作良好，久而久之成了社区中调解纠纷的“老娘舅”，为促进邻里和睦作出了贡献。她还为社区里的外籍人士提供翻译，帮忙请钟点工、家教等，帮助他们尽快适应上海的生活。

    新天地社区共建协调委员会成立早于新天地居委成立，是由新天地居民和相关职能部门组成的基层民主自治共建组织，王君姿担任了会长一职。任职期间，她发起、组织过丰富多彩的社区活动，如组织社区居民进行蚯蚓堆肥，组织青少年参与绿色环保行动，开展社区联谊冷餐会，分享育儿经验等。王君姿本人和她的家庭，还获得过不少的社区表彰，如最佳阅读家庭、五好文明家庭等。

Deep involvement in social services and community support

    Annie has “done a lot of work” during these 20 years. What impressed us most, however, is her active involvement in a variety of community services, social services and NGO programs. She founded an interactive children’s museum in Shanghai, which is an early childhood development program for children from one to seven years old. The idea of the non-profit museum is education through play, as enshrined in Annie’s motto “play to learn and learn to play”.

    Annie has also been working with the Art foundation of the American Women’s Association in Shanghai to supplement schools for migrant workers’ children with art, dancing and music classes, because she believes art is a universal language and those children will find confidence through arts and music.

    Annie has also been actively engaged in community services. She took the position of  Director for the Lakeville owners’ association for nearly 8 years. As an expat who can speak different languages, Annie works as a dispute mediator in close cooperation with local police stations and tries to make all residents become good neighbors. She also assists other expats in translation, looking for an ayi (housekeeper), finding a tutor for their children, or even finding a new job after their expatriate employment contracts expire.

   Annie was once the head of the Xintiandi Community Coordination Committee, a democratic, autonomous, and self-governed organization established prior to the current Xintiandi neighborhood committee, and she had organized many activities like worm composting and buffet parties for the community residents. In return, the community has given her many awards like nurturing the most well read family and the Five Virtues Family.

黄浦：上海的文化艺术名片

    黄浦区有着深厚的历史文化底蕴。作为音乐爱好者，王君姿夫妇俩经常去上海音乐厅、上海大剧院以及文化广场参加活动。据她介绍，她和她先生还是上海交响乐团俱乐部的会员，只要有高水平的演出都不会错过，可谓是乐团的铁杆粉丝了。

    有这些一流的文化场所经常带来世界级的文艺演出，加上顶尖的博物馆和画廊星罗棋布，黄浦可以称得上是上海的文化艺术名片，也是许多像王君姿夫妇这样热爱艺术和生活的外籍人士的最理想居住地。她还特别提到，在欣赏古典音乐会时，她看到观众中有很多年轻人和青少年，而在欧美的主要城市，古典音乐的受众往往以中老年人为主。“从这方面来说，上海代表了古典音乐的希望和未来，所以会有那么多的世界知名音乐家来这里演出。”王君姿兴奋地说道。

Huangpu: the cultural icon of Shanghai

    Huangpu enjoys a very rich historical and cultural deposit. As music lovers, Annie and her husband have been frequent visitors to such cultural venues as the Shanghai Concert Hall and the Shanghai Grand Theatre, which are all in the close vicinity of their community in Xintiandi. Annie told us that she is a member of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, whose new concert hall is located on Middle Fuxing Road now, and she has been their supporter for 20 years. All these places have allowed Annie to enjoy world-class shows and concerts. Various top-level museums and art galleries clustered in and around Huangpu District also add to the glamour of this district, making it an ideal place for living in Shanghai for expats like Annie. “Among the audience of those classic music concerts in Shanghai, many are youngsters and kids, while in New York and major European cities, most of the audience are grey-haired,” Annie joked. “Shanghai is the future of classical music and that’s why a lot of world-renowned musicians come to Shanghai to perform their works.”

期望：更绿色的环境、更优质的医疗、更多元化的教育

    作为已完全融入这座城市的新上海人，王君姿对上海也有着自己的建议和期望。

    当提到会选择在哪里退休时，她认为阳光、空气、水这样的环境要素很重要，上海在环境治理方面取得了长足的进步，期望上海不断创造更绿色、更环保、更宜居的生活环境。上海的公立医院改革是时下老百姓较为关心的话题，她建议要开设更多与国际接轨、更高质量的医疗机构，让包括普通市民和外籍人士在内的各类人群都能畅享优质的医疗服务。

    在谈到教育改革时，王君姿表示她注意到有一些艺术天分极佳的学生可能会因为考试成绩不佳而无法进入高等学府深造。对这类学生，需要有更具有针对性的政策和措施来帮助他们发挥才华。王君姿说这也是她热衷于儿童艺术和音乐教育的原因之一，艺术和音乐是人类共通的语言，有助于帮助人们寻找快乐、树立自信。

Expectations: greener environment, better healthcare, more diversified education

     As a rooted expat and key local opinion leader, Annie also expressed her concerns and expectations for Shanghai.  

    When speaking of where to live a retired life, she thinks that elements like sunshine, air and water quality are important. “Shanghai is already improving on that,” said Annie, “and should continue the efforts to ensure a healthier living environment for all citizens.” She also suggested more health facilities be built, especially for expats, who are definitely in need of high quality health care and medication.

   In terms of educational reform, Annie said that many gifted students in China may fail at the National College Entrance Exam due to their poor academic records and they need more assistance to support them to bring out their best talents. Otherwise, their confidence might be crushed and their talents wasted. That’s one of the reasons why Annie has been involved in the education of Children in arts and music all the way along her Shanghai journey. “Arts and music liberate people and give happiness and confidence”, said Annie.

生活经历的成功“投资人”

    采访中，王君姿给人的最大感触是她是一个愿意投资、善于投资的生活经历“投资人”，这似乎也是她保持快乐的源泉。

   “我不买很贵重的首饰，我喜欢投资在旅行、听音乐这些生活经历上，”王君姿说。讲到自己的艺术创作，她表示“真正有价值的是我们与艺术品之间的心灵沟通，也就是当你看到一幅画作时内心涌上的感受，无论是激动、还是平静，这些可能远比金钱重要。”

    虽然在大学路上她有个人画室，平常也会自己画些画，但她更希望自己成为一个生活艺术家，用行动不断把美带给周围的人。在短短一个多小时的采访中，王君姿传递给我们满满的快乐和幸福感，我们也向她送上美好祝福，愿她为更加开放黄浦，美丽黄浦，继续发挥独特作用。

A successful investor in life experiences

    Annie struck us as a successful “investor” during the interview, not in terms of stocks or properties, but in terms of good life experiences, which, we believe are what her constant happiness derives from.

    “I don’t buy showy jewelry. I invest in life experiences like music and travel instead of material things,” said Annie when asked about investment. She is a painter and has a good eye and taste for artworks, and therefore sometimes helps her friends to determine what is valuable. What is really valuable to Annie, however, is life experience. She rarely invests in artworks because she believes artworks should be shared and enjoyed by everyone, instead of being put at home and kept by collectors for themselves. “What is valuable is about what’s between you and the artwork. How you feel when you are looking at the paintings, how you connect with the paintings. All these are more important than money”, said Annie.

    Annie has a studio set up on Daxue road, but she spends more time on travelling, art and reading events and exhibitions, social and community services, as well as supporting her family. She would prefer to become a life artist than a mere painter who stares at her paintings all day. During the one hour interview we can feel that the time and money Annie has invested in her life experiences has led her to a fruitful life and generated tremendous positive vibes and great energy for the people and community around her. Here we also send our best wishes to Annie and hope she will continue to contribute to a more inclusive and more beautiful Huangpu!