In 2015, Tim Wenniges saw the lights of Shanghai for the first time from an airplane. He and his wife previously lived in Jakarta for a year, but China was at the top of their bucket list. Then an unexpected offer from the Konrad Adenauer Foundation landed on his desk. Wenniges was to head the local office. He and his wife did not think twice and went there. Seven years later, Wenniges now sits in his home in Stuttgart back in Germany and reminisces about his years in China.