Londoner Alan Smith never imagined he would still be living in Shanghai a decade on from when he first set foot in what he thought was a strange city in 2012.

He teaches English at Shanghai No. 3 Girls' High School, one of the best high schools in Shanghai.

"Shanghai is an easy, convenient and livable city with full international ambiance and facilities," said Smith, 45.

He was invited to a seminar with seven other foreign teachers from local primary and secondary schools to share their views on international education and how to enhance the soft power of the city. The participants said Shanghai's international education environment has reached the world's top standard.

After class, he often goes to a gymnasium near his apartment in downtown Changning District or practices martial arts with his Chinese kung fu master.

Smith said he still remembers the cold rainy night he arrived in Shanghai, when everything seemed "overwhelming" and he did not know what to expect in the new chapter of life.

However, it turned out to be easy to settle down.

The applications for work and residence permits were efficient. He found there are always interesting places to visit, and teaching at the local school was exciting.

Despite housing being a bit expensive, his apartment and neighborhood are nice places to live. He now lives alone in Shanghai, with his relatives in the United Kingdom.

"Shanghai is a big international city on par with London with much more entertainment," he said.

In the last decade, he said he has been witnessing the rapid development of the city into an international powerhouse for culture, business, arts and education.

"I also have fantastic students," Smith said.

He said he's here to make up for shortage of teachers of English and boost the competence of public speech in English for sixth-graders at the school.

"I do not teach grammar or vocabularies, but teach how to use them effectively and present themselves and their ideas to audiences," Smith said.

He encourages the students to stage dramas, and take part in various class activities to make English learning interesting.

Sharman Leanne, another English teacher also from England, said Shanghai is a clean, safe and pet-friendly city. She has a dog and three cats at her apartment.

Leanne said when she first came to the city in 2009, there were only several Metro lines, but today there are 18 lines running across the city.

"When I work till late night and go home alone in the city, I have nothing to worry about," Leanne added.

More than 40 full-time foreign teachers work at primary and secondary schools in downtown Changning to enhance the English speaking ability of students. According to the district's education commission, over 90 percent of Changning's elementary and middle schools would open English classes given by native speaking foreign teachers.