Brian Keith: An American teacher to settle in east China

Brian Keith is an American teacher at Huzhou Teachers College in Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province. His Chinese name is Long Junhao.

Brian volunteers to tidy up a shared bicycle. Photo by Huang Lirong

In 2014, Brian came to study marketing at the Huzhou Teachers College Business School. Once in China, Brian found it was completely different from what he had imagined. “Before I came to China, most of the Chinese people I knew were immigrants. They left China decades ago and their impressions of China were those of the past. I thought Chinese people were still wearing Maosuits!”

The advanced, civilized China surprised Brian—high-speed trains run at 300 kilometres an hour and the fares are affordable, and China has Alipay, shared bicycles, 24- hour convenience stores and and endless selection of cuisine. “The cities in eastern China are more developed than I had imagined, and life is exciting. The air is fresh and the infrastructure is excellent. I’m enjoying a relaxing and comfortable life,” he said.

Brian often participates in volunteer events organized by the local Communist Youth League. He donated money to “Huzhou Yangfan Rehabilitation Garden”, a volunteer effort to help children with autism. And he also took part in charity sales. “I want to do whatever I can for this country where I’m living,” said Brian.

During his interview, Brian took out his mobile phone and showed our reporter a photo of his wife. Brian and his wife met in Hangzhou. His wife was a Huzhou native, so they decided to settle in there. “In the future I’m going to live in China, my home away from home.”

“The Belt and Road Initiative has connected the world. People are brought closer and closer and they are ever more cooperative,” said Brian. He wants to open a consulting company to sell “intelligence”.

He hopes to help Chinese companies identify problems in production and operational management and formulate practical and feasible improvement programmes. “I’ll make better use of my expertise to give advice to Chinese companies and help them to avoid detour."

Editor: Wang Shixue