Talent hub

And it's not just foreigners who find Dalian an attractive place to relocate to.

Liu says the city has become a hub for offshore outsourcing from other nations and now boasts more than 1,000 businesses of this type that employ about 130,000 locals.

Alan Cao, director of delivery for Japan and China at client engagement and support firm Concentrix, says a big part of the reason why the company chose to establish its China base in Dalian was because the city makes it easy to attract and retain talent.

"There are very, very talented people here in Dalian, that's why it's easy for us to run a business here. It's nice weather and a beautiful city, that's why we can attract people from all over China."

Sebastian Hohenstein, head of planning for a joint venture in Dalian that produces engines for Audi and Volkswagen cars sold in the Chinese domestic market, agrees.

"Chinese want to move to Dalian. That for me is the most important point. If I think about my talk with new employees that we want to hire, it's always a point. We are not looking for people who want to join us for a year. We are looking for people that want to join us long term, which means they have to come here and bring their family here and set up their life here in Dalian."

The 37-year-old German and his wife, who is an artist, know firsthand how livable the city is. Christine Hohenstein says they were on their honeymoon three years ago when her new husband Sebastian broke the news they were moving to Dalian.

Ideal destination

"I had no idea how beautiful it is here," she says. "Dalian is a place where foreigners could make a home. I think it's the best city we could have chosen in China. It has great air, these nice hikes or walks on the beach: it is so very nice."

Near the center of Dalian, in the luxurious confines of the Kempinski, the hotel's German general manager, Christian Wiendieck, has his finger on the pulse of who is coming and going in the city.

He says about 36 percent of guests who stay at his hotel are foreigners visiting either for business or pleasure.

"It's the people, it's the lifestyle, Dalian has it all," he says. You need to have a work-life balance and a lifestyle. Dalian is a perfect city to do this."

Liu says Dalian airport has the fourth-highest foreign passenger volume in all of China, ranking only behind Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Fabien, like Ghalili, has bought a home in Dalian.

Both are hoping that eventually, visa reform will mean they can attain something similar to a green card.

Ghalili, in particular, who first arrived in Dalian when it was little more than a fishing village with dirt roads, says she would like more certainty about being able to stay long term in the place where she has made a home and put all three of her sons through the local Chinese education system.

"I really love it here, especially the environment," she says. "This is definitely my city. I feel very much a part of the network, more so than anywhere else in the world."

While the Ghalilis might not have a piece of paper confirming their status as permanent locals, long-time employee and friend Mo Zhanping, 55, says they're already accepted, where it counts.

"I've worked with them for a long time now," he says. "Their sons even have the local Dalian accent. They are good people, that's why I'm still here. They are local Dalian people."