Gerhard Mairhofer, general manager of Shanghai Krupp Stainless Co., Ltd., considers working and living in Shanghai quite happy.

"I haven't seen any city in the world witness such a rapid development in the past 10 years. It's hard to identify a place if you haven't been there three months," he said.

China's booming economy is a magnet to foreigners. Nearly 100, 000 foreigners are enjoying their work and life on the Chinese mainland, according to Saturday's People's Daily.

Investors in China mostly come from Japan, The Republic of Korea, Singapore, The United States and Europe, and most of them work on technological and managing businesses in relatively prosperous regions as Shanghai, Beijing, Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the newspaper said.

Charles M. Martin, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, was quoted by the paper as saying that staying long in China is important for foreign businessmen as they must understand the Chinese culture and market.

"Many Americans in China want to get Chinese green cards, but do not know if they are qualified," he said in fluent Chinese.

In October 2004, China issued a regulation to regulate and protect foreigners who apply for permanent stay in China.

Beijing has annulled different treatment between Chinese and foreigners in selling houses, and Shanghai has opened an Internet office to facilitate foreigners in dealing with disembarkation procedure, the daily said.

FASCINATED BY CULTURE

Many western people come to China after they read The Travels of Marco Polo, and they are fascinated by China's culture after reaching the far east country, the paper said.

A girl from The United Kingdom names herself as Yang Lei, a typical Chinese name. Graduated from Augus University and settled in Shanghai in 1996, she is now keeping a small shop.

She said she became interested in the Chinese culture after coming to know some artists living in Shanghai. "I love classic Chinese furniture and decoration very much... It's interesting to place the modern and ancient, Chinese and European articles together in my home."

In spare time, the daily said, many foreigners like to watch the arrangement of traditional houses in city alleys, or enjoy Chinese folk music accompanied by cups of tea.

They are seeking for a unique fun in the country where ancient and modern culture are well mixed, the paper said.