ALEX De Ceuster has lived in Shanghai for 16 years now, and the city never ceases to amaze him.

The 40-year-old first came to China 20 years ago as a student, and it aroused his interest into whether he could set up home and live there. De Ceuster’s curiosity was heightened even further when he returned for his first Chinese learning experience in Wuhu, east China’s Anhui Province, in 2000.

“I studied Chinese in Anhui Normal University in 2000,” the Shanghai Centre’s marketing director recalls. “Although it wasn’t exactly the most developed place in China, I had a great time.”

In 2002, De Ceuster got a chance to work in Shanghai after his two-year Chinese language course in the university. He confesses he enjoys everything about Shanghai life except for its winter.

“I truly, thoroughly hate the Shanghai winter,” the Belgian says. “It’s the kind of cold that gets to your bones. You can never really warm up and you constantly have cold hands and feet.”

In his spare time, the marketeer is fond of extreme sports, such as paragliding, rock-climbing and adventure races.

“I like adventure,” he says. “The kick you get from doing that, you don’t forget that stuff!”

Q: Do you remember your first time in China?
A: My first visit was in 1998. At that time I was in my second year of university in Belgium. Two colleagues and I decided to do a bit of a China tour, visiting some famous places like Xi’an, Beijing, Leshan in Sichuan, and Yunnan’s Dali and Lijiang.

The last stop before we flew back home was Shanghai. I remember it was early August and ridiculously hot. I remember walking on People’s Square, and the heat was like opening an oven.

In Belgium it never gets that hot, I mean summer is warm but it’s not hot. Then we went to the Bund, because after going to all of those nice places, you don’t get to see anything like the Bund. It was a nice way to close off our few weeks journey in China.

Q: How did you get to land in Shanghai?
A: Firstly, because I studied Chinese, I managed to get a scholarship for two years in Anhui Normal University. It was such a small community. There were about 40 foreigners in the entire city of Wuhu.

After two years I didn’t want to go home yet. I enjoyed being in China and I studied Chinese, so I thought ‘why not try to find something long term?’

I got a job at the Shanghai Centre running a summer camp for the kids who were living here. I did that for a couple of months.

The lady who was in charge of marketing at that time was also on the board of a company called “Active Kidz Shanghai.” They do sports activities for the expat children in Shanghai. On the last day I was interviewed for a position with “Active Kidz.” Then on Monday, I got a call saying I got the job. I did that for about six years.

After that I got a call from Mr Kan, the current GM of Shanghai Centre, who remembered me from my previous job in the complex. He was looking for somebody to head the marketing department. I was thrilled to get back to my “roots” and ten years later, I’m still here.

Q: Any interesting or impressive Shanghai stories to share with us?
A: After so many years here, a lot of exciting things have happened but it’s really hard to pinpoint.

I like tennis, so I got to see Maria Sharapova when she was here in 2002 when she was not well known. I knew she was a rising star when I saw her practicing. Now we have the Rolex Tennis Masters and everything. I got to see Andre Agassi too.

I’m a big musical fan, so I really like musicals like Les Misérables, Phantom of the Opera, etc. In 2002, I got a chance to take the kids from the summer camp for a backstage tour at Les Misérables here. Afterwards, when I went back to give the director a little gift as a thank you, he invited me to be assistant stage manager during an entire show. I got to see people going on and off the stage. I got to help change some stage pieces. For me, as a musical fan, that’s like a dream come true. You never get to experience something like this on your own.

Q: What do you usually do in your free time?
A: I used to do a lot of paragliding. The basics you can probably learn in three or four weekends, but then it’s all about practice. You have to learn how to go over hills, feel the wind and how to stay up longer. So I did that for a while, and then of course the kids came, and my wife was like, “you’re not going to be spending every Saturday and Sunday doing that now!”

So now, I try to be a good dad and spend pretty much all my spare time with them, going to activities, going to gymnastics, going to the ballet classes, going to birthday parties, picking them up from sleepovers.

On the other hand, if I have a chance to do something for myself, I’m also the chair of VLIS, an organization for Flemish people in Shanghai. So we organize activities for them as well and do things together. When I really have some “me” time, I train for adventure race like the Spartan Races.

Q: Compared to your country, are there any shortages in Shanghai?

A: Well, Belgium has 11 million people in the entire country, while Shanghai has like 24 million. So, obviously everything in Shanghai is bigger and better than in Belgium. You can eat anything you want here, you can buy anything you want if you’re willing to pay for it. So, I’m very satisfied with living in Shanghai.

Belgium is wonderful, if you want to retire and if you want to be in a quiet environment. Then there’s also good health care and child benefits.

Shanghai is great: moving, changing and full of energy. For me, I don’t see any shortages, but if they could fix the overall car-traffic, it would be better. I know it’s a big city, so you can’t fix things 100 percent. It’s gotten a lot better though, the rules have got stricter, so people are following the rules better.

Q: What’s the most memorable moment in you life until now?
A: Having kids is something very, very special, for sure. You can’t really understand what it is to have a child until you have one. Everything you do after that, it is not about you anymore. It’s all about them, because you have to make sure they have what they need and they come first, most of the time.

Q: Any advice you would like to offer for a newcomer ?
A: Make an effort to study Mandarin as soon as you can. At the very least, learn the basics so you can communicate with the people around you. This saves you a lot of frustration and you get to enjoy everything so much more. Chinese people, especially the elderly really appreciate it if you speak their language.

Aside from that, enjoy Shanghai! It’s a fabulous city, with great people, an amazing vibe and plenty of opportunities. If you ask me, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world.