The outward journey was uncomplicated; I first drove from Beijing Capital Airport to the company. I was already expected there and was met by the head of the HR department. The company headquarters in Beijing is located in the so-called “Business Development Area”, or BDA for short. Here, the Beijing administration has created a district in which a large number of foreign companies have settled. Well-known names such as Bayer, GE Healthcare, Tesla and Coca-Cola are located in the immediate vicinity of Hörmann. My one-bedroom apartment was very conveniently located – around ten minutes by car from Hörmann and 45 minutes by subway from the center of Beijing.

The original plan was that I would only support the HR department during my stay. During the first few days, however, it quickly became clear that there were comparatively few tasks that I could do in English. So my workplace shifted to the International Business Division (IBD), which is responsible for sales and exports to 14 other Asian countries. The Head of IBD and the Head of Controlling were German colleagues. I was quickly able to make connections here and take on additional tasks. My area of responsibility ultimately comprised the three areas of HR, controlling and international sales. This provided plenty of variety and very exciting insights.

Before my stay, I was firmly convinced that “Asians” couldn’t be all that different. Thanks to Hörmann’s broad positioning throughout Asia, I was lucky enough to be convinced otherwise. I got to know many nationalities and had countless exciting encounters with Malaysians, South Koreans, Indonesians and Japanese, for example.

Even the provinces within China are very different from one another. I was able to experience this first-hand during a team-building weekend, which was attended by around 200 colleagues from all over China. Even though only a few could speak English, I quickly noticed the visual and behavioral differences.

I was often invited to meals together at the weekend. Every Monday, the company offered badminton together and we carpooled. These contacts all came about in a professional context and often because my German colleagues took me to events very often. That had a big impact on my stay.

There were only a few conversations outside the company. This was mainly due to the fact that the majority of Chinese people don’t speak English. What’s more, there wasn’t much time at all outside of work and it was important for me to have free time to myself.

It is particularly important for me to say that I felt welcome during my three months in both Beijing and Shanghai. I was always treated with respect, even though I could only speak a few words of Chinese as a foreigner in China. Everyone made an effort to make the most of encounters and to learn from each other. This is one of the most important experiences I took away from the trip.

One very positive experience I have had is the hospitality and openness of the Chinese and the fact that things would often run much more efficiently if there were fewer regulations, as is the case in China.

However, a few more regulations on CO2 emissions would be good for the economy and the climate. We mainly know about the smog problem from the news. But only when you experience it every day and have to breathe in the bad air can you understand what it really means. In plain language, this means that an air filter is always running in the office and that on some days, the most you can do to get to work is go outside wearing breathing protection. Doing sport outside is only considered a good idea for the first week at most. But there is also too much regulation: permanent surveillance. No matter where you go, everything is filmed. Police officers and “watchdogs” everywhere. In addition, the signs and symbols of the Chinese government are omnipresent.

I still have unanswered questions about how the Chinese (in Beijing) themselves reflect on their lives, how they see themselves in their own society and how they represent the norms and values propagated by the government. I couldn’t immediately answer the question of whether I could imagine working in China for a few years. It would definitely be a time of great hardship.

Another important point is the cost of the stay abroad. Hörmann covered the costs of the visa, return flights and 50% of the accommodation costs. I paid rental costs of €200 per month. In addition, my internship abroad was subsidized once with 800 € (267 € per month) by the PROMOS scholarship. Not to forget that I also received my training allowance from Hörmann during my internship abroad.

Food prices in Beijing can vary greatly depending on whether you buy local products or more Western food. As I personally bought more Western products than local ones, my expenditure on food hardly differed from that in Germany. However, the canteen served traditional Chinese lunch every day. Contrary to the preconceptions about Chinese food, I can say that it almost always tasted good. After all, there are always exceptions… In conclusion, the costs of the trip can be summarized at around €800 per month, including a four-day stay in Shanghai.

One of the most important preparations for my stay in China was setting up a VPN for my cell phone and laptop. Without a functioning VPN, I would have been separated from Google, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and all apps by the “Great Chinese Firewall”. That would certainly have made my stay more difficult.