From a chance encounter during a trip to settling down permanently, an Italian expert is enjoying the life of speed and passion in Xiamen

From a chance encounter during travel to establishing a permanent residence in Xiamen, Luigi d'Apolito, an Italian expert in new energy vehicles, has found a perfect balance between his career and life in Xiamen.

This associate professor from Xiamen University of Technology, who has received the "White Heron Friendship Award" from Xiamen and the "Fujian Friendship Award" , shared his story of pursuing the dream of scientific innovation in Xiamen.

At first sight, I fell in love. Our friendship began during a travel encounter in Xiamen

Luigi recalled that he had been working in Italy before. Due to work-related travel, he came to China and met his current wife. In 2012, they moved to Xiamen. This modern and traditional blend of coastal city deeply attracted them, and this feeling of attraction led him and his wife to finally choose to settle down here.
Luigi: Xiamen has both the dynamic vitality of rapid development and a comfortable pace of life. This unique balance is hard to find in other cities. 
After living in Xiamen for many years, Luigi grew even more fond of this beautiful city. He appreciated the rich historical and cultural atmosphere of Gulangyu Island, and also enjoyed the "vibrancy" of the streets and alleys.
Meanwhile, as the Chinese automotive new energy sector has been developing rapidly, Luigi's research has also continuously achieved new breakthroughs. He actively engaged in scientific research, formed a team with other researchers from the university, and conducted university-enterprise cooperation projects in-depth in enterprises. He became a key research member of Xiamen University's "Fujian Province Vehicle Collaborative Innovation Platform", providing technical support to many enterprises, significantly enhancing the market competitiveness of these enterprises. As a result, he was hired by Xiamen Hongdian Electrical Appliance Co., Ltd. as a production-research scholar. 

As the coach of the racing team of Xiamen University of Technology, Luigi led the team to achieve numerous outstanding results. The university's racing team participated in over 20 domestic and international university car competitions, winning 1 world championship, 5 national championships, 4 national runner-up titles, and 4 national third-place finishes. They were also awarded the "Outstanding Contribution Award" by the Chinese Society for Automotive Engineering and the event organizing committee.

In January 2025, after completing a simple information entry process, Luigi, who had been working at Xiamen University of Technology for 12 years, obtained the first foreigner work permit and social security integrated physical card in Fujian Province in just 20 minutes.

Issuing physical cards is one of the measures implemented by the Human Resources and Social Security Department of the Ministry of Human Resources to enhance the convenience for foreign personnel to work in China. The Human Resources and Social Security Bureau of Xiamen City has integrated the work permit for foreigners coming to work in China with the social security card. By loading the information of the work permit for foreigners coming to work in China onto the social security card, they provide more convenient and efficient services for foreigners working in Xiamen, such as handling insurance registration, querying work permit information, and downloading, etc. This has brought great convenience to their life and work in Xiamen.
Luigi: To give an example, if you need to go to the tax office or the hospital, you used to need multiple cards before, but now you only need one card, which is much more convenient. 

Those talented individuals from home and abroad who aspire to realize their dreams can all achieve great success in Xiamen just like Luigi did. Currently, in order to meet the demand for international talents in the modern industrial system construction, Xiamen is exploring and implementing numerous innovative measures such as optimizing the licensing approval model and building a professional international talent service team, in an effort to attract more outstanding overseas talents to this vibrant land of innovation and entrepreneurship.

Source: Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Human Resources and social Security