She also said she was impressed by the portal's efficient services that helped her to settle into her new rental in just a week.

"Submitting the application materials, finalizing the lease and paying deposits are all done by simple digital procedures," she said. "It also offers great convenience to students who haven't come back to China."

Statistics show that so far, 20 out of the 30 people who applied for apartments since the portal's launch have completed their move-in.

The Changning portal (https://english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-HongqiaoTalentServiceCenter/index.html) aims to become a user-friendly one-stop hub with information, resources, and services for foreigners looking to do business, find a job, settle down, and study in Changning.