Canadian teacher Bryan: I have never experienced the changes of China in my Canadian hometown

Speaking of his life in China in the past ten years, he said that his daily activity is mainly teaching at school. However, from his wife, a Shanghainese, he has learned how China and Shanghai have changed in the past few decades.“Shanghai has changed a lot since the reform and opening up. For example, the Shanghai subway is very developed today, and it is very convenient to go anywhere. In addition, there are many high-rise buildings in Shanghai. Shanghai has not only retained the traditional Shikumen buildings, but also has modern constructions. In general, Shanghai is in line with international standards. The shopping and transport are all different from the past. I like Shanghai very much.”

This change is more obvious when compared with his own hometown."I come from a small town in Canada called St. Andrews. There are only 18,000 people. It has not changed in 160 years, the same streets, the same buildings. So the kind of development Shanghai has gone through is not something that we experienced in my hometown of Canada. I am very aware how much change Shanghai and China have gone through in the last number of decades."

Bryan, who loves exploring, always likes to travel to various places during the holidays. He praises that China's transportation is now very convenient."From my perspective, as a Canadian, one of the benefits of China is that it is easy to travel anywhere. In Canada, If you want to travel, you must have a car. If you go far, you have to take a flight. But in China, you can travel easily by train."

For his life in Shanghai, his calm tone conveys satisfaction."I really like Shanghai. I have been here for more than five years. Now I am not planning to leave. I am married, and have a child on the way. My life in Shanghai is very good. Shanghai offers many opportunities, it’s an international city, I feel I have everything I need to have a comfortable life."

What most impresses him is the development of Chinese technology. He said that No.2 high school of East China Normal University is located in the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park in Pudong. He can see how many technology companies there are in the district every day and feels a strong high-tech atmosphere."I am quite impressed by how much effort Shanghai has made for technological research and progress."

Bryan, who has already integrated into China, sincerely looks forward to the future development of China's science and technology, especially in health care.“As a Science teacher I pay attention to news that relates to the different sciences and in particular when those news stories are about China. As I am getting older, I find I am more interested in the news stories related to health science especially related to cures for disease or understanding what happens to the body as we get older.” He specially mentioned the field of genetic editing and praised China for being a leader in this world.“I am very excited to see how China will progress in technologies like CRISPR,” he said with a firm-looking expression.

Bryan's wishes for China to deepen reform and opening up, expecting China to lead the development in science and technology.