I found David Lehr on the fourth floor of the 501 tower in Shangcheng district in the REPULI, Sports Medicine Clinic. David, a German physiotherapist, hails from Bonn. By no means a newcomer to China his first impressions came from travelling here in 2010 after graduating as a trained physiotherapist. Driven by his interest in the human body he wanted to find out more about Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Sceptical at first, David found an internship at Beijing University Hospital where he could watch and learn. What he learnt, he said, was opening his eyes to alternative treatment techniques. He found that Chinese medical culture did not know about or use western style physiotherapy methods to any large extent. "As a Physiotherapist," he says,"we always try to figure out what's the origin of the problem rather than just to reduce the symptoms", which is often the rationale of TCM. In 2013/14 David found himself back in China as a tourist travelling to all points of the compass.

While travelling, he found himself treating people and the idea that he could develop a practice here developed. Beginning with one table he worked on providing an education programme and providing treatment. It was a challenge to get the practice off the ground because as a start-up they had to deal with many different governmental departments. But by late 2019 David and his partner, Jezel, were ready to open up the new clinic in the 501 tower. Due to the pandemic the project was put on hold until April 2020 when they re-opened.

I asked why move to Hangzhou in the first place? David admits he could have chosen Beijing, Shanghai or any number of other cities but the local government here had a project called the "50/50 returnee talent policy". It's was a subsidy project that supported start-ups with foreign experts and Chinese who went abroad but came back to China. Of course, Hangzhou is a beautiful city, he says, full of nature and so green. One can take a thirty-minute drive and find forests and mountains, then relax in a tea house in the perfect environment.

Fighting is another passion, Judo and Thai Kickboxing are his thing although work pressures mean he cannot train as much as he would like to. Squash is also a sport he enjoys and via this article he asked me to send out an open invitation for a squash partner as he would love to continue playing. When asked to compare his Hangzhou home to Bonn he says, "there is always something going on in Hangzhou, it never gets boring. The city is full of life and keeps you thrilled. My hometown Bonn is also a beautiful city, but I always was missing something and I finally found it here in Hangzhou."

Currently REPULI is probably the only Sports Medicine and Physiotherapy clinic in Zhejiang and southern China. He underlines the support given to the business by the local Binjiang government. They have 16 employees working in the clinic and education is fundamental to the business. The project grew out of an experience centre where people could come and see exactly what it was they were offering. Currently the majority of their customers are Chinese with foreign expats accounting for around 30% of their business.

Locally they work with sports teams such as The Generals, an American football team, sports events like Hangzhou marathon, and sports organizations like badminton and baseball clubs. They also attend weekend events to deliver on the field services to sports men and women who get injured. David also provides consultancy at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine. They publish articles and advice on various social media platforms such as Alicare, WeChat and some Chinese language platforms.

David does not know if or when he will leave, but what he does say is, "It was a hard path we chose and to be honest we had some real struggles in the early years. But these obstacles were valuable experiences that brought us to the point where we stand here today. Hangzhou has changed me in the way I think and act as a founder of REPULI, as a therapist and as a private person. We are still highly motivated because we see that each year we are getting closer to our dream, namely to establish a German standardized and an evidence-based Sports Physiotherapy practice here in Hangzhou and hopefully one day across the whole of China."