Mousa Dembele left Tottenham and turned down interest from Bayern Munich and Inter Milan for the chance to emulate kung-fu icon Bruce Lee in the Far East.
'I chose China because I needed something new,' said Dembele, who has joined Guangzhou R&F from Spurs for £11million.
'Other clubs in Europe and Qatar were also a possibility but the adventure at Guangzhou was the most interesting.
'I've always been a fan of martial arts actor Bruce Lee. His films made me want to go to China one day.
'Of course the financial aspect played a part but I want to throw myself completely into the football.'
Dembele will earn £5million a year in the Chinese Super League after the 31-year-old Belgian departed English football.
He made 249 appearances in all competitions for Tottenham, since signing from Fulham in 2012, but had just six months remaining on his contract.
He has only appeared 13 times this season, with the likes of Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko earning more playing time.
Dembele has also not played since suffering an injury and being substituted after just seven minutes in their victory at Wolves on November 3.
The midfielder has made 82 appearances for Belgium during a 12-year international career, and has featured at the 2014 and 2018 World Cups, as well as Euro 2016.