Around 50 local expats, including employees of foreign-funded enterprises and owners of startups, joined a one-day tour to Qianhai on Saturday to explore the charm and business opportunities in the area.

The tour started at the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Youth Innovation and Entrepreneur Hub, where the expats visited startup company GJS Robot and experienced combat robots the company developed. GJS Robot is a high-tech enterprise specializing in R&D, producing and promoting consumer battle robots and gaming robots, and has attracted millions of fans both at home and abroad with two blockbuster products: battle robot GANKER and gaming robot GEIO.

Luke Prosper, an English teacher with Shenzhen University, brought his two sons to the tour. “Today’s tour is quite educational, and my sons are really interested in robots,” the American said. “Each time I come to Qianhai, I find new changes in this place. It is developing at a really fast pace!”

The expats then went to Laipic (Laihua), a short video creation platform developer, and created their own virtual animated image using the company’s creation platform.

At the Qianhai International Talent Hub, they were briefed on 100 services exclusively for international talents and 451 government and business services available at the hub, including visa renewal, residence permit application, and subsidies for overseas high-end talents and urgently needed talents.

Romanian Sava Tomoiaga, a language teacher for over 20 years in China, said she was impressed by all the services offered at the hub. “It’s special for foreigners who struggle with communication, as all the staffers here can speak perfect English,” she said.

In the afternoon, the tour group went to the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Fund Town, where a photography exhibition about Nanshan Subdistrict named “Nanshan in Light and Shadow - Forever Hometown” was on display. The expats learned about the historical inheritance of the subdistrict’s Nanshan, Nanyuan, Beitou, Xiangnan and Nanguang villages and experienced the international block’s vitality featuring innovation and entrepreneurship.

They were also impressed by the charm of traditional Chinese culture, watching a Xiangnan lion dance performance, a municipal intangible cultural heritage, and tasting local specialties.

The tour was jointly organized by the Foreign Affairs Office of Nanshan District CPC Committee, Nanshan Subdistrict Office and International Cooperation Division of Qianhai Authority with an aim to let more expat talents better understand Qianhai and Nanshan’s preferential policies and lure more international investment and talents to the area.