Up until Gerhild Hornbanger's 30th birthday, the Austrian woman had been living in her "safe, nice little place with high mountains, blue sky, fresh air and wealthy people".

The lawyer was happy enough with her lot in life and felt her professional career was just about to get really started. Her husband's career was even more successful. Then out of the blue, the couple felt the need for a serious change. They both quit their jobs and bought two around-the-world-tickets and left everything behind.

They were prepared to spend all their savings and give up a sense of security to start a new life. They embarked on a journey of discovery and saw many parts of the world, "each in its own way fascinating and appealing".

"But we both fell in love with China, so here we are, since October 2005, arrived with nothing but two suitcases," she says. "China gives me strength every day and it contributes overwhelmingly to my personal growth."

Hornbanger finds it hard to identify what she likes best: the old Chinese culture and history on the one side or its breathtaking development within the recent years on the other side.

"We chose living in an original Beijing siheyuan instead of a fancy expat-villa, appreciating the amiability of our Chinese neighbors and being really aware of living in the capital.

"I can't help visiting Jingshan Park (which is right across the street of our home) every day, watching the people dancing and practicing qi gong (breathing exercise) in the early morning.

"When we arrived, I watched from a distance. Nowadays I feel being a part of this buzz of activity. But I also love the modern and new face of China, the architecture and design, the economic development. It is so stunning."

Hornbanger says China has taught her that extremes and opposites can exist harmoniously side by side. "Economic development and sticking to the country tradition and culture is possible at the same time," she says.

China has also inspired her to have the courage to think big and venture into business.

"As Austria is a very small country, we also tend to think in small dimensions and so I am just starting my own big business," she says. "China made me passionate about the martial arts and I became an ambitious kick-boxer, driving myself to the limits each time.

"China made me very sensitive related to the harmony and unity of people's body and soul. I am on the difficult way to find, understand and control my qi (vital energy)."

Hornbanger also has tackled the Chinese language and has swapped coffee for tea.

"China is home now to me and my husband and we both know that we are very lucky to experience all this," she says.

(China Daily October 19, 2007)