For Singaporean hotel expert Desmond Tan, home is no longer just a place on the map. It is where old friends welcome him back, familiar dishes bring back memories and family life carries on amid the bustle of a fast-developing region.
Tan first came to China for long-term work in 2006. Over the years, he has built a life and career in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), where people from different backgrounds work, do business and live side by side.
Now a consultant for a Guangzhou company, he is involved in its new hotel project, Banyan Tree at Haizhu Lake in Guangzhou. The project marks another chapter in a career that has taken him across the region's hospitality industry. From 2013 to 2018, he served as general manager of Imperial Springs, a resort in Conghua. Besides, he worked at Ji Yun Yao Resort, a unique resort up the mountain in Conghua. He witnessed the development of the city and the integration of the region.
Returning to the places where he had worked recently, Tan was greeted by former colleagues and friends. Some had worked with him for years. Others remembered him as someone who offered guidance not only at work but also in life.
"Most people want a hotel to be a home away from home," he said. "They want a place that feels like home."
The sense of belonging extends beyond the workplace. Tan has made friends with local residents, including the owner of a farmhouse restaurant in Conghua, where he enjoys most of the classic local foods.
His family has also found its place in the GBA. His two children grew up in Chinese cities before moving back to Singapore. In addition, Tan and his wife, Vivien, have turned their shared love of food into a business, opening Emerald Hill Nyonya Kitchen, a restaurant serving Peranakan cuisine from Singapore.
The idea was to bring the taste of home to people living far from it. Vivien says that they want customers to enjoy the warmth of home-cooked food.
For Tan, the GBA's appeal goes beyond personal connections. He says that people from different backgrounds can work together with little friction, supported by predictable rules and warm service. He is also impressed by the region's innovation in industries such as automotive manufacturing, low-altitude aviation and robotics.
These qualities reflect the spirit of the upcoming APEC meeting in Shenzhen: openness, cooperation and shared development across the Asia-Pacific region. As the GBA deepens its links with the wider world, Tan believes that collaboration can create new opportunities for people and businesses alike.
He describes Singapore as "an extremely well-managed international hotel" and Guangzhou as "an old tea house that never closes," both inclusive but in different ways. The comparison reflects the distinct character of two places connected by trade, culture and people.
When asked where home is, he simply answers: Guangzhou, where his wife is. Wherever his family is together, that is home.
His story highlights another side of the GBA's development: beyond trade and innovation, it is also a place where people from across the region can build careers, friendships and a life of their own.
Reporter | Dai Bosi
Video | Dai Bosi, Hu Nan, Ou Xiaoming
