Editor's note: We have asked expats living in China to share their own stories about the cities they work and live in. Alberto Casartelli is from Italy and he is the secretary for the Italian side of the Shandong Chamber of Commerce.

Considering how much Jinan, the city where I lived for more than a year between 2015 and 2016, has changed in recent years, it seems like much more time has passed, but it has only been eight years.

I have been back living in China for a few months now. Although, I am living in the city of Tianjin now, I have not missed a chance to revisit Jinan, the city which hosted me for more than a year and in which I had a very happy time in my life.

Alberto Casartelli samples the art of the guqin, an ancient stringed instrument, in Jinan. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

I still found the same city: hospitable, open and full of social and cultural activities. I was able to immerse myself in art at the International Biennial at the Shandong Museum, still breathe in the atmosphere of nature at Baotu Spring and Daming Lake in Lixia, go shopping in Tianqiao, dine at a local traditional restaurant, and much more.

But at the same time I saw a different city as I visited completely new areas, with a horizon of new skyscrapers, with offices as far as the eye can see and enormous shopping malls. This is the sign of a city and a province that have always moved forward, that have never thought of stopping, and that record some of the highest economic growth in all of China.

Already Confucius taught us that "loving one's work enables us not to feel its burden". And now, just as it was eight years ago, I still met people who love their work and who convey enthusiasm for it.

In 2015, working in Jinan as an English teacher at a Montessori institute and as an Italian teacher in a language school, I observed the effort and desire my colleagues had for providing serenity to children and students, and to help them grow as individuals as well.

Now, as the secretary for the Italian side of the Shandong Chamber of Commerce, I have met companies eager to make contributions to China's restart and growth, and to take their excellence outside China and around the world.