Inspired by each other: The China-Europe story since reform and opening-up

BERLIN - Hanzheng Street has a special place in Bernd Gerich's heart - and the reason for it goes back close to a historic start in China.

It's a road in Central China's Wuhan city, known for its wholesale market. That's where a bronze bust of Werner Gerich, the 71-year-old Gerich's father, proudly stands.

Gerich senior was one of the first foreigners to work in China as the director of a State-owned factory after China started its epic reform and opening-up four decades ago.

The German was sent to Wuhan by the Bonn-based Senior Experten Service, a volunteering organization finding placements for people who have retired or are taking time off from their jobs, to work as an assembly and quality control consultant at a diesel engine factory.