Shanghai has been a destination of choice for many expatriates and their companies during the past year, and Community Centre Shanghai is scrambling to keep up.

Claus Borregard, who works for Asian Express, assures me there are always more expatriates coming than going.

One clear indicator of the increasing numbers of expats is the growth of existing international schools and the opening of new ones. Admissions director Rob Hulse at Concordia here in Jinqiao says they are working with a 30 per cent increase from last year and are adding facilities to cope with expected growth in the coming years.

Next door to Concordia, Dulwich College International opened a new British-curriculum school this year with more than 500 students in grades 2 through 9. Shanghai American is launching a high school programme on their Pudong campus this coming fall, and Yew Chung International is building a new campus in Pudong and expanding its facilities in Puxi.

Shanghai attracts high-quality expats. Take Sue Ferry, a Canadian who has been working with the Community Centre's River of Hearts programme. She is constantly building bridges between the expatriate world and the Shanghai community that hosts us.

Sue has worked tirelessly to build River of Hearts as a programme that shares things you no longer need with people in Shanghai and in other parts of China who do.

Next year? Sure to be more mind-boggling change as Shanghai continues to reinvent itself. And more opportunities for expats to invest themselves creatively in this dynamic, kaleidoscopic city. Helping expats get connected, with each other and with China. That's what the Community Centre is all about.

Nate Showalter

Director

Community Centre Shanghai