“来到宁波，我被这座城市的魅力彻底迷住了。我很喜欢宁波人的生活方式，不是太忙碌，但又非常有效率。休息时，可以非常悠闲，周边有山有水。”贝京明笑着说，在这里，觉得自己就像一张白纸，未来还有大把机遇。

5天，不过是人生的一瞬。而斯洛伐克小伙贝京明（Mickal Berky）与宁波的相遇，就在一瞬间。

帅气的外表、爽朗的笑容，加上一口流利的中文，贝京明2015年被首届中国-中东欧投资贸易博览会组委会一眼相中，来到宁波，成了斯洛伐克国家形象大使。5天的博览会开完，他却不想走了。“这一定是特别的缘分。”贝京明自己打趣道。

贝京明与宁波相遇、相知，生活、事业变得生机勃勃。他还惊喜地发现，作为受益者，这才只是个开始……

从《西游记》迷到国家形象大使

1989年出生的贝京明，算是标准的“中国通”。早在高中时，他就痴迷于中国武术和中医。考入斯洛伐克顶级学府——位于布拉迪斯拉发的考门斯基大学后，他顺理成章地选择了中文和跨文化交流专业。

当时，他最爱读的中国名著就是《西游记》，其浓重的神话色彩唤醒了他儿时对于东方的各种天马行空的幻想。

2013年，他成功地申请到了重庆西南大学的交换生资格。首次踏足中国土地，他兴奋不已，几乎踏遍了重庆的各大名胜古迹。重庆的美食，他也几乎都尝了个遍。但一年的交换时间实在太短，还没过足瘾，他就回国了。

机会出现在2015年年初，一位中国朋友告诉他宁波要办一个中东欧展，还将开出一个斯洛伐克常年馆。当时，贝京明已经研究生毕业，是中国某公司驻斯洛伐克的一名工作人员，工作稳定，收入颇丰。

“但到宁波的机会，让我一下子意识到，或许我可以到中国工作，融入这里的生活。”贝京明说，从朋友口中，他知道宁波地处长三角，拥有世界级大港，经济繁荣，文化底蕴深厚。贝京明心动了。

5天的展会很快结束了。“当时刚刚开馆的斯洛伐克国家馆承办人找到我，希望我留下来，把更多的斯洛伐克好产品介绍到宁波。”贝京明被深深触动了。原来，斯洛伐克大多是中小企业，这些企业对于庞大的中国市场一直非常感兴趣，但苦于没有渠道，加上跨国营销成本过高，大量好产品“养在深闺人未识”，只能望洋兴叹。

“宁波有成熟的分销网络，可以把中国与中东欧的市场需求很好地结合起来，对于做进出口贸易的人来说，这里既有质量保证也有价格优势。”贝京明当即决定协助建好斯洛伐克常年馆，借助“宁波平台”，帮老乡们好好吆喝。

从最早的解酒饮料，到斯洛伐克国民啤酒，再到零食、保健品等，4年来，贝京明和他的宁波伙伴把越来越多的“小众”产品带到了宁波，并经由宁波进一步走向全中国。在这里，他有了一个广为人知的名字——小贝。

“来到宁波，我被这座城市的魅力彻底迷住了。我很喜欢宁波人的生活方式，不是太忙碌，但又非常有效率。休息时，可以非常悠闲，周边有山有水。”贝京明笑着说，在这里，觉得自己就像一张白纸，未来还有大把机遇。

从国家馆合伙人到“新宁波人”

在一次次的“无心插柳”中，小贝也遇见了人生的多重可能——

从宁波进口中心斯洛伐克国家馆的斯方合伙人，到梅山岛国际集装箱码头有限公司的企业培训师；

从进口中心咖啡馆的投资人，到少儿英语培训机构的联合创办人；

从在浙江卫视《中华好故事》上讲白龙马的故事，到在央视《回家吃饭》栏目里烹制斯洛伐克大餐……

小贝与宁波之间，催生了越来越多的“化学反应”。从开始的一个小小的点，慢慢地，越来越多，串起来连成片，变成了好多个面。

小贝说，虽然有时工作很忙，分身乏术，但自己享受当下的一切。做跨境贸易，能将自己国家的高质量商品带到中国，这让他感到自豪。做文化交流，则为中国朋友开了一扇了解斯洛伐克风土人情的窗，他觉得很荣耀。

“有一次，在宁波的超市里，我居然发现小时候爱吃的饼干，这是斯洛伐克的‘国民饼干’！”小贝为此欣喜不已。不知不觉中，斯洛伐克与宁波已经有着密切的经贸联系，产自斯洛伐克的优质商品经由宁波这一大本营源源不断地进入了中国市场。2018年，首个中国-中东欧国家经贸合作示范区花落于此，更意味着宁波和斯洛伐克的贸易通道再度拓宽。

正如去年，在第四届中国-中东欧投资贸易博览会上，斯洛伐克国民议会副议长Andrej Hrnciar对宁波说的那句话：“中国-中东欧的合作需根植于地方，如此才能‘根深叶茂’。”

从“异乡”到“故乡”

2017年12月，贝京明略带伤感地在朋友圈里写下了这样一句话：“My mom just sent me this picture with a comment: Just to remind you where you belong……”（我妈妈刚发给我这张照片，上面写着：只是想提醒下你，你属于哪里。）

配图上，那是斯洛伐克首都布拉迪斯拉发的一个郊区小院。从院子小门向外望去，白雪皑皑中，“雾凇沆砀，天与云与山与水，上下一白”，那正是他梦想出发的地方。如今，他把“异乡作故乡”，引起了母亲的“抱怨”。

只是，来宁波短短数年，他的人生早已与这座城市，与中国-中东欧国家合作密不可分。

“有一次加班，朋友问我什么时候回家，我第一反应是回宁波的家。”一晃到了2019年，改写他人生的博览会如今已经升格为国家级。小贝笑着说，现在每年不在宁波的时间，加起来还不到一个月。呆的时间越长，他就越喜欢宁波这座城市：福泉山的沁人茶香、风车公路的唯美浪漫、穿山港区的磅礴壮观、石浦渔港的小镇风情……他有足够的时间来“深度阅读”宁波这座城市。不过，他最爱的还是宁波的城市精神：开放、热情、大气。

不久前，小贝又一次来到梅山岛国际集装箱码头，他为大家量身定制了“一带一路”英文课。说到这些中国小伙伴，小贝说：“I really enjoy Friday afternoons with these guys. Looking forward to our next session.”（我真的很喜欢每周五下午和这些人共度的时光。期待下一次会面。）

6月12日下午，升级后的中国-中东欧国家博览会在所有人的恋恋不舍中落下帷幕。此次，斯洛伐克作为双主宾国之一，参展的不仅有农副产品企业，还有生产军用模拟器、民用飞机模拟器的VRM公司，拥有中欧最大贸易园区的IPEC公司以及专业的商业信息咨询公司D1 Solution等，各领域的优秀企业共同组建了超强阵容赴甬对接。

对于未来，小贝有更多的期待：“斯洛伐克的教育科研资源非常好，比如我的母校考门斯基大学就是欧洲一流学府，希望以后可以借助宁波，加强教育、人文、科研领域的交流，把‘宁波平台’用足用好。”

中国-中东欧国家博览会

2013年11月，中国与中东欧国家领导人在罗马尼亚发表《中国-中东欧国家合作布加勒斯特纲要》。中国-中东欧国家投资贸易博览会是纲要确定的重要内容之一。首届中东欧博览会于2015年6月在中国宁波举行，2019年更名为中国-中东欧国家博览会暨国际消费品博览会，博览会于6月8日至12日在宁波举行，这是目前唯一聚焦中国-中东欧国家合作的国家级展会。

The five days in Ningbo in 2015 transformed the life of Mickal Berky, a young man born in 1989 in Slovak. Appointed by the organizers of the first China-Central and Eastern European (CEE) Countries Investment and Trade Expo based in Ningbo, a harbor city in eastern Zhejiang, Berky came to Ningbo and served as the promotion ambassador at the Slovak Pavilion. The five-day expo ended and he chose to stay in Ningbo.

Before the five days happened, Mickal Berky had traveled a long way with a passion for Chinese culture. In senior high school, he fell for Chinese Wushu and traditional medicine. When he entered Comenius University in Bratislava, he chose the Chinese language and intercultural exchanges as his major. His favorite Chinese book is Journey to the West, a classical novel written in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), which brought the young Slovakia’s fancies to life. In 2013, he came to Southwest University in Chongqing in China, a municipality under the direct jurisdiction of the central government, as an exchange student. The one-year study gave him an opportunity to get fully exposed to the beauty of Chongqing, the most important city in the southwest of China. He visited all the tourism attractions and tasted all the local culinary delicacies in the city. The one-year period flew past fast and he returned to Slovak most reluctantly. An opportunity to return to China emerged in the early 2015 when he learned from a Chinese friend that the CEE countries were going to hold an exposition in Ningbo and that Slovak was going to host a permanent exhibition there. He saw the opportunity. By then he had graduated from the university and was working for a Chinese company in Slovak. He did a research on Ningbo and was thrilled to learn that the city with a world-class harbor in the south of the Yangtze River Delta offered a bright future. His application went through and he was accepted as the promotion ambassador.

Berky was offered to work at the permanent pavilion of Slovak toward the end of five-day exposition. He took it. Over the past four years, high-quality products made by small and midsize businesses in Slovak have reached many places across China through the permanent pavilion of Slovak at the gateway city Ningbo. Visiting a shopping mall in Ningbo one day, he spotted a Slovak biscuit brand he favored as a kid. He was very happy and proud at that moment.

The five years in Ningbo have given Berky many other opportunities. He is now a partner of the pavilion. He is the investor of a café at the import center in Ningbo. He is a co-founder of a school where children learn English. He teaches at a training center of a company that operates an international container port on Meishan Island. He has appeared in various television programs. Nowadays, he spends about 11 months a year in Ningbo. He considers Ningbo his home. The annual China-CEE expo has been upgraded in 2019, which means trade and cultural exchanges between China and his motherland will deepen and flourish more. He is happy in Ningbo working to promote the ties between China and CEE countries. He finds the city dear to him, but his mother is less than happy. She once sent him a photo featuring a suburban courtyard in snow. Her mother wrote a comment on the photo: "Just to remind you where you belong".

As more and more Slovak businesses consider Ningbo as a gateway to China, Berky gets busier. The upgraded China-CEE expo in Ningbo concluded on June 12, 2019. This time, some business heavyweights from Slovak appeared at the expo. Berky looks forward to a brighter future for the cooperation and exchanges between China and Slovak. "Take my alma mater for example. Comenius University in Bratislava is one of the best higher-education institutions in Europe. I hope Ningbo will serve as a platform and do its best to promote exchanges and cooperation in education, culture, and science," says Mickal Berky.