Keep Running on the Track of Youth

By Ada Wang

Current times are t u r b u l e n t a n d change quickly， and a new generation of Chinese youth will inherit the spirits of pioneers and innovation， and shoulder the responsibilities. This spirit is fully demonstrated by Anson Yan， Chairperson of Firing Cultural Technology（Shenzhen） Company Limited. She shared about her own life and working experiences in an exclusive interview with Chinas Foreign Trade.

Influence from home education

Anson Yan was born in Taishan， Guangdong， Chinas first hometown of overseas Chinese and also her fathers hometown. Once a solider fighting against the Japanese invaders， her father came to Hong Kong for work.

“My father was 65 years old when I was born. My mother said she still remembered my fathers excitement at that moment.”

Thinking of her father， Anson Yan has mixed feelings： her father worked hard all his life， and engaged in public welfare undertakings. He has always kept a low profile but has been active in his work for decades， no matter in Hong Kong or his hometown. He has helped the orphaned and widowed， children in need， and donated to several primary schools， local elderly care homes and veteranshome in his hometown. The drawers full of medals are testimony to the stories of her father. Her fathers love， cultivation and encouragement always lingered in Anson Yans heart， just like a lighthouse guiding her forward.

Her father arranged for Anson Yan to study in the U.K.， where she successfully completed her studies. But instead of inheriting her fathers business in Hong Kong straight away， she decided to start businesses in Southeast Asia， Europe and the United States.

As she grew older and her career became busier， Anson Yan always felt an invisible force guiding her forward. Such feelings became increasingly strong after her father passed away several years ago. “My fathers words and deeds have taught me that I must make others succeed before I make any achievements. He also made me understand that the country comes before family. On the night of Hong Kongs return to China， my father stayed up all night and was as excited as a child. When I just arrived in the U.K. to study， my father always told me to go back to China after graduation. This is a kind of missing， bond and special feeling that are connected with my country and hometown. I know that returning to China and my hometown for my career development is also what my father expects，” said Anson Yan.

After graduation， while manag- ing her own career， Anson Yan travelled across the country with Wu Yu Ming， cultural envoy of the Belt and Road and the president of the Hong Kong Doyens Club. They left their footprints at places such as the Yunnan Academy of art all the way to the Dunhuang Research Institute， from Ancient tea-horse toad to the silk road. “Over the past few years， it has strengthened my determination to devote myself to the cause of cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries. I also feel that many overseas Chinese， especially those living in countries along the the Belt and Road， are eager to understand the changes in China over the years through cultural exchanges.”

Since then， Anson Yan had decided her career direction： to be a cultural exchange envoy， let the overseas Chinese compatriots find their real “home”， and help them turn their homesickness and ambition into real action to serve the country.

Investment projects focus on social welfare

In recent years， Anson Yan has gradually shifted her career focus to China， and what concerns her most are projects related to peoples livelihood.

When it comes to the categories of clothing， food， housing and transportation， Anson Yan cares most about food and living. She said that Jiangmen is regarded as the “rice bag”and “vegetable basket” of Guangdong Province. In 2021， the citys total output value of agriculture， forestry， animal husbandry and fishery reached RMB 54.224 billion， an increase of 12.2% over the previous year.

Anson Yan and her team are actively integrating the excellent talent and resources of first-tier cities such as Beijing， Shanghai， Guangzhou and Shenzhen， to empower seed projects of Jiangmens local rural cooperatives. Her team provides brand building and management， business consultation， cultural and creative planning， marketing， export and other supporting services for local farmers and rural cooperatives， until they establish their own agricultural brands.

Anson Yan said that when it is impossible to increase the profits by expanding the scale of breeding or increasing output， the only way is to implement a branding strategy and increase the value add of products， to increase the income and profits of the cooperatives. Its better to teach people how to fish rather than to give people a fish. I want to lead the young people in my hometown， and help the old people and children to turn my hometown into a treasure land.

In addition， Anson Yan and her team are also actively expanding cooperation channels. For example， in recent years， she has been paying attention to and actively promoting modern marine ranching， distant fishing and other projects. “Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world， we had been working with the Hong Kong Fisheries Union and an expert team to make in-depth exchanges with the authorities of East Timor and other countries. On the one hand， I am deeply aware of the global needs to develop the fishing and fishery industry chain on the premise of protecting the oceans； on the other hand， we sincerely hope that such projects can contribute to the economic development of Hong Kong and its adjacent regions. We want to do our best to help the fishermen in Hong Kong to open more business channels and create more job opportunities.”

For young dream-seekers like Anson Yan， the development of dis- tant fishing in East Timor is of farreaching significance in many aspects.“Of course， it is also very challenging. I think meeting challenges and pursuing innovation should also be what our contemporary youth should look like. East Timors fishing waters are one of the best in the world. There are huge ocean currents， abundant marine and fishery resources， and even whales do not need to migrate. It is the best ideal place for developing modern marine pastures and seaweed farming. All our efforts will be very worthwhile if our team works together to make contributions to the economic prosperity of China and East Timor on the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.”

On top of this， Anson Yan also cares about the dual carbon goals of China a lot， and designed the intelligent housing technology brand Baorong iHouse.

According to Chinas construc- tion energy consumption data， carbon emission in the whole life cycle of the construction industry accounts for 51% of Chinas total carbon emissions. China produces more than 1 billion tons of construction waste every year， most of which are directly landfilled without treatment， resulting in huge ecological damage. The prefabricated construction adopts models like factory prefabrication and on-site assembly， which significantly shortens the construction period， reduces energy consumption， saves resources， and reduces environmental pollution in the form of dust， noise and construction waste. The research shows that prefabricated construction can reduce carbon emissions by 7.5% throughout its entire lifecycle， which greatly alleviates the problem of high energy consumption in traditional construction.

Therefore， with the commitment of serving the country with science and technology， Anson Yan and her team joined hands with Shenzhen AAA Smart Housing Technology Co.， Ltd. and Shenzhen Baorong Culture & Travel Technology Co.， Ltd. to create the brand Baorong iHouse， which has a mission of building smart and beautiful living spaces for China， as well as creating a complete set of solutions for the target space.

It is said that Baorong iHouse takes the national permanent building code as its R&D standard， which can be declared as a temporary or permanent construction when it applies to the real estate ownership certificate. The brand leverages new materials， technologies and processes to standardize building modules and manufacture structural systems in factories. After production， it is directly packaged and transported to the construc- tion site， and the parts （components） are assembled like building blocks. The whole process requires no professional workers and with simple guidance， a regular person may get the work done with only a wrench in 3-5 days. This perfectly shows Chinese smart manufacturing and Chinese speed. The whole process requires no welding， cement， nailing and gluing， and produces no construction wastes. It can be instantly installed for living or dismantled for building in other places. Moreover， in terms of product structure materials， iHouse adopts civil high-end aerospace materials—magnesium titanium alloy aluminum， with a recycling rate of more than 95% and recycling value of more than 70%. The materials have high residual values， far exceeding the industry standard. As the saying goes， “mortise and tenon can last for ten thousand years.” The building structure of iHouse seeks the wisdom of the ancients， uses mortise and tenon structure and incorporates the modern science and technology. The bolt connections ensure the firmness of the house， which can resist typhoons of magnitude 12 and earthquakes of magnitude 9. The service life of the house structure can reach 100 years. Houses can be disassembled or reorganized repeatedly， and materials can be recycled， which meets the requirements of green and sustainable development.

“At present， Baorong iHouse has obtained 37 patents and 21 invention patents have been applied for，” Anson Yan said proudly.

Anson Yan believes that in the post-pandemic era， culture， tourism and health care will play an important role in domestic circulation. People have started to pursue healthy lifestyles and vacation， and tourism is changing from traditional sightseeing tours to more in-depth cultural tours， or health care and leisure tours featuring health and culture. The dream of “second residence in life” has sprouted in many peoples hearts， and higher quality residential products have become the rigid demand of the market.

Today， Baorong iHouse series products have been launched in the Eryuan National Art Museum and Shaanxi Zhongba Workshop Town. For example， in Zhongba Workshop Town， Baorong provides customers with a full set of scenic spot planning， smart housing design and all media digital content operation services. Combined with the content of local intangible cultural heritage， improve the living experience in the scenic spot， and design reasonable cultural and tourism products， so that the culture can be inherited through the understanding of living. Also， the project creates more jobs for the local community.

“Next， we will extend our business to countries along the Belt and Road， including countries and regions in Central Asia， Southeast Asia， West Asia and Europe. Adhering to the Silk Road spirit of ‘mutual benefit and win-win results， peaceful cooperation， openness and inclusiveness， mutual learning and benefit， we will bring high-quality ‘Chinese smart manufacturing to the world，” Anson Yan said.

Practice public welfare

As the vice president of the Hong Kong Doyens Club and the director general of the Social Care Committee， Anson Yan has always been enthusiastic about public welfare undertakings.

Anson Yan said that for young people， engaging in public welfare projects represents his or her value orientation. “For me， public welfare is a sense of belonging， even a belief， like the saying ‘the poor shall care for themselves and the rich shall make the world a better place， meaning that everyone can start with small things and aim to do good every day.”

Anson Yan always believes that“those who help others are blessed”. She and her family practiced by organizing for patriotic young people in Hong Kong to donate box meals to those sleeping on the streets every week. After the COVID-19 pandemic broke out， the price of antipandemic articles and living supplies increased sharply due to a shortage， and some poor elderly people could not afford it. This is why Anson Yan mobilized young people to donate anti-pandemic kits and daily necessities to those in need.

In her hometown of Taishan， Anson Yan would distribute healthy edible oil and holiday red envelopes to households with five guarantees， households with low guarantees， households with financial difficulties and the people over the age of 65. On the Double Ninth Festival every year， she would hold public welfare activities respecting the elderly， and organize a thousand-people banquet to allow the elderly and young people to have opportunities to connect. “Public welfare transcends national borders. During the pandemic， the employees of our Malaysian branch also stood up immediately to offer support to local Chinese groups in need and send all kinds of anti-pandemic materials for free to survive the hard times.”

In Anson Yans view， these things are not worthy of being mentioned. She just wants to lead her young team to do something for society and the country. “Despite the difficulties and hardship， we harvest happiness. Public welfare activities also improve ourselves. Especially for young people， public welfare undertakings can imperceptibly cultivate their strong sense of social responsibility and compassion， greatly enhance the cooperation ability of the young team and improve the cohesion of the community and society at large，” Anson Yan said frankly.

She believes that young people are the cornerstone of national prosperity and development. Cultivating young peoples sense of social respon- sibility and patriotism takes a long time； it needs real action rather than empty words.

Anson Yan agrees with the deeds of Wu Yu Ming， President of Hong Kong Doyens Club： “Over the years， he has been traveling between Hong Kong and Beijing， and all over the world， making every effort to promote the cause of cultural exchanges. President Wu led us to actively promote the ‘evergreen integration planby holding exhibitions， organizing contests， seminars and other activities. We can feel the essence and profoundness of Chinese culture， so that Chinese traditional culture and patriotism can be inherited from generation to generation both at home and abroad. As the younger generation， we should be more actively participating and hand over the flame of Chinese culture and national spirits to the next generation. This is also the significance of cultural exchange and communication among the elderly.”

The youth is in its prime and Anson Yan has some advice for young people： “Flowers have stems and leaves have roots. No matter where we go， dont forget the expectation and call of the motherland. We should integrate ourselves in the national cause， take the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation as our own responsibility， and make our generations contributions to the country and nation. We believe that the sun always appears after the storm， and there will be opportunities after the pandemic. Lets run on the track of youth and make the best achievements of contemporary youth！”