Returning home: The new land of opportunity

Chengdu welcomes the Fortune Global Forum that opens on June 6. Photos Provided to China Daily

The Shuangliu International Airport is in full swing for the upcoming event.

"The opportunity is here," said Zhong Zhihui, a 36-year-old overseas returned student who has chosen Chengdu to continue his career.

"China is full of opportunities. I don't want to be a bystander."

Formerly a lecturer in the human nervous system at the University of Rochester in the US , he is a Sichuan native.

Recruited through the central government's "1,000 talent project", he recalls when he and fellow returnees went to Yan'an for patriotism education, which significantly boosted his morale to work in his hometown province and its capital Chengdu.

"You may think that I'm talking clichs, but I really think that national sentiment is a born thing," he told reporters.

He is now director of the department that studies the effects of medicine at Huaxi Haiqi Medical Co in Chengdu.

His major work is testing the safety of medicine before trials on humans.

Zhong is now preparing to start another company, a wholly owned subsidiary of West China Hospital.

"My company makes sure a medicine is effective and then Haiqi will test its safety on animals. It is a chain," he said.

He said his former tutor in the US is also considering coming to Chengdu after hearing of the opportunities.

"Chengdu's medical industry has seen rapid development, but there is still much space to start a business," he added.

"Considering cost-effectiveness, Chengdu is a good choice," he said.

xuxiao@chinadaily.com.cn