1A My Shanghai: Home

Angela Monica Lim is a Canadian-born-Chinese business consultant and entrepreneur. Originally from Vancouver, she holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a duo-concentration in International Business and Human Resource Management. Angela first came to China in 2009 as an exchange student at Tsinghua University in Beijing. The next year, she moved to Shanghai to start her career in international business relations and professional development of young talents. In 2017, she co-founded a creative consulting firm, Less Ordinary, and in 2020 she became a founding member of China’s first obstacle training facility focusing on community fitness, Temporary Humans. Angela is a frequent guest lecturer at Shanghai’s prestigious universities, including The Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance at Shanghai Jiaotong University and Fudan University School of Management. She is a mother of two children (ages 3 months and 3.5 years) both born in Shanghai.

Zhen-Lei Chang is a Dutch-born-Chinese business consultant from Amsterdam. She first visited China in 2010 as a project executive for the Dutch government at the Shanghai World Expo. She graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in International Business Management. She started her career in brand partnerships at Aegis Dentsu Network in the Netherlands, creating and managing brand sponsorship campaigns for both regional and global clients. In 2014, she moved to Shanghai where she started her full-time career in new business and trading management at Omnicom Media Group. In 2020, she co-founded a creative consulting business, Shanghai Monkey Kings. Zhen-Lei is also a yoga-instructor and has been running her private yoga practice for the past two years. She is a mother of two children (ages 4 and 6) both born in Shanghai.

Danara Smolianinova is an illustrator from Russia. She first moved to China in 2009 and since then has worked and lived in different cities including Beijing, Qingdao, and Shanghai. She has worked on illustrations and graphic design for numerous coffee shops and restaurants as well as for brands including Costa Coffee, Wal-Mart and Levi’s. She illustrated her first children’s book in 2017 which was published in Russia. She is currently based in Beijing and is mother of a 5- year-old born in Shanghai.

The authors, Angela Lim and Zhen-Lei Chang, wanted to create something special for their children who were born in Shanghai.

This book is their ode to this city and their little reminder to stop and smell the flowers in the midst of the hustle and bustle of Shanghai life.