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They are here for a good time -- and a long time. When months stretch into years and life becomes a string of farewell parties for friends returning home, there comes a time in an expatriate's life when they must ask: have I gone native?

 

Foreigners in China for the long haul stay for a number of reasons. Many have established a true affinity for the culture and its people. For others, it is the opportunities that continue to be thrown up with China's constant change. And for some, it is the different pace of life, and the chance to delve into Asia's history and geography.

 

Carol Wolfson has lived here for 26 years yet still refuses to call herself an Old China Hand.

 

The American was one of the first three foreign students to be offered an exchange scholarship to Fudan University after China embarked on economic reforms and opening up policies in late 1970s.

 

 

Many expats have witnessed social change in China and established a true affinity for its culture and people. Pictured above are three of these Old China Hands: Noyan Rona from Turkey (top), Carol Wolfson (left) and Natalie Behring (right) from the US.

 

She stayed on illegally, working at Hong Kong trading house Jardines until her deportation in 1982. After finishing her degree in the United States, she returned to Taipei and worked as an economic analyst. Wolfson spent eight years in Taiwan Province, then lived in Hong Kong before moving to Shanghai. Her curiously titled memoir, The Last Pluck, was recently published by London-based Wise Monkey.

 

"I wasn't particularly talented or incredibly brilliant, but I was one of the few young professionals who spoke Chinese at the time, so it truly was luck and opportunity that led me to live in Asia," says the philanthropist, who founded animal charity, Second Chance Animal Aid.

 

"After working and living in Asia all this time, observing many events, both exciting and incredibly ludicrous, the overload of thoughts and experiences needed an outlet," she says.

 

Wryly recalling the first days of Coca Cola and Snickers in Shanghai, Wolfson says: "expats now are spoiled".

 

"When I first moved here, my boyfriend had to bring me necessities such as pantyhose, shampoo and cheese from Hong Kong. And the only restaurants in Shanghai in 1981 were either in the five major hotels or the people's restaurants."

 

She has watched the world grow smaller, and today finds herself searching for former haunts that no longer exist. "Nowadays, Asia as a whole reeks of the excitement of newfound freedom and success," she said. "Most countries in Asia are now flourishing and the younger generation would much rather be seen at their local McDonalds than listen to their elders."

 

Noyan Rona is another who has witnessed first-hand the social changes China has seen since the early 1980s. The Turk pursued a master degree at the University of Wuhan, Hubei Province, studying Ancient Chinese History before landing a position in diplomacy.

 

Today, Rona is chief representative of the Turkey Garanti Bank in China, and one of a small group of foreigners with a position on the political advisory body of Changning District's annual Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

 

"No foreigner could have foreseen the changes that China has rapidly gone through," Rona says.

 

"Twenty years ago you may have dreamt of a piece of bread. Nowadays you can find it in almost all neighborhoods."

 

Photojournalist Natalie Behring first came to China in 1994 in search of adventure. These days, the American promotes herself as, "based in China, covering the world". Behring left for China at age 22, just weeks after graduating from Arizona State University. With a BA majoring in history under her belt, she arrived in 1994 to teach English at a university near Beijing.

 

 

Behring studied Mandarin before deciding a backpacking trip around the country would help develop her language skills. It was on this odyssey that she picked up a "real camera" for the first time and decided on a career behind the lens.

 

"A light went on in my head and I knew this was what I wanted to do. I knew that I would love it forever," the 35-year-old says.

 

Behring was hired by the Beijing bureau of wire agency, Reuters, where she met her South African husband. She left the Middle Kingdom in 2000, but returned three years later, and has based herself here since.

 

The past decade has seen the international freelancer cover major stories across Asia, the Middle East and Africa. But it is the cauldron of life in ever-exciting China that constantly piques the world's attention.

 

"There's endless possibilities here, for news and also for shooting great features," said Behring, whose work is regularly published in leading world newspapers and magazines, including the New York Times, The Globe and Mail, and Newsweek. "Chinese news on an international scale is worthy of a front page every week."

 

Author Tess Johnston has staked her claim for the title of oldest expatriate resident. She came to China in 1981 to work for the American Consulate General in Shanghai, and stayed on after her retirement in 1996.

 

"Having passed 75 years of age, I am probably the oldest living expat in Shanghai, except for grandparents and the like, those coming and going," Johnston says.

 

"At that time my co-author and photographer Deke Erh and I had completed five volumes on Western architecture in old China. Yet we felt that we had a great deal more on the Western presence here to cover. Now we have more than 15 volumes between us." 

 

Johnston says she has seen great change to the living standards of most of China's citizens. She laments the environmental degradation resulting from rapid industrial growth.

 

What makes a foreigner suited to living long-term in China? Stuart and Barbara Strother sought to answer this question in their book, Living Abroad in China, published as part of the Moon series last year.

 

The husband-and-wife team, who have straddled two cultures since the early 1990s, believe going the distance, "takes an incredible amount of flexibility and fortitude".

 

"One recent figure put the percentage of expats returning home early as high as 70 percent. These are people who come to China with grand expectations but leave disappointed and disillusioned."

 

The pair moved to Shanghai with their toddler twin sons and taught at various schools while also running a teacher recruitment business.

 

"We found that life is actually easier in China. Without the hectic American do-all-you-can-do schedule, life slows down considerably. With this slower pace, we found we could make frequent forays beyond our city to discover the innumerable fascinating spots within China," Barbara Strother says.

 

By Ida Relsted and Viva Goldner

 

(China Daily June 1, 2007)