Hu's main experience

Workers, peasants and soldiers have been English teachers for seven years.

Hu was born in Putuo District, Shanghai. Before liberation, my father Hu went to Hong Kong to make a living. At the end of 1950s, when Hong Kong's economy was in recession, some Hong Kong entrepreneurs turned their eyes to distant Africa, and Hu's father was one of them. "My father had been doing textile business in Hong Kong at first, and then moved to Africa. At that time, Africa was still an almost unknown continent, and it took four or five days by plane. "

Hu is a "senior three". 1962 entered Jinyuan Middle School, a century-old school in Shanghai. "My education is very traditional, learning from Lei Feng and Jiao Yulu, advocating helping others, being strict with yourself, being lenient with others and so on. It deeply influenced my thinking. " He said it was the happiest time of his life. Like many "old three", he went to the countryside and became the first student of workers, peasants and soldiers who graduated from 1972. After graduation, I entered Shanghai Nanhai Middle School to teach and became an English teacher.

It was a period when reading was useless. "At that time, students didn't listen to the teacher and even opposed the teacher." In order to make students deeply understand the truth of reading, Hu spent some time thinking. He still clearly remembers the story told to the students in the first class: "An apprentice went to work in a factory and saw the words' Made in China' written in English. He asked the master loudly, which country is this machine made in? At this, Lao shifu laughed at first, and then told him seriously that China built the machine himself, which improved the efficiency. This is a machine made by China himself. How can you say it's made abroad? "

On 1978, when Hu left school to go abroad, many students shed tears. Nigeria is beyond imagination

Hu's father worked hard for 10 years and became the leader of overseas Chinese in Nepal. He decided to let Hu take over the job.

"Father said let me apply to go abroad, but the Cultural Revolution is still in a hurry, and I dare not go out. Later, he asked me to visit him. " Hu said:

"One day, the school leader called me to the school office and said, Comrade Xiao Hu, your father is very influential abroad. The organization agreed to let you go abroad. Do you want to go abroad? As soon as I heard it, I quickly waved my hand and said, I don't want it. "

A few days later, our ambassador to Nepal returned to China to report on his work and went to Shanghai to visit Hu. At the Peace Hotel, he kindly told Hu, "Don't be burdened by thoughts. Overseas Chinese also need successors. Please apply for going abroad. " Encouraged by Ambassador Hu, he began to go abroad.

In the festive atmosphere of smashing the Gang of Four, Hu embarked on the road to Africa with confusion.

Hu went out from Luohu Customs in Shenzhen. At that time, Luohu was still a dilapidated fishing village, and the "Customs" was a log cabin nailed up with broken boards. Through the extremely simple "security gate" pieced together with wooden strips, Hu looked back at the motherland and waited for 30 years.

What Nigeria presented to Hu was beyond his imagination: there were highways and viaducts on the road; Color TV sets have become quite popular in families. Because Nigeria is an oil-producing country, rising oil prices have brought rich income. Set foot in the hotel industry and earn the first bucket of gold.

My father laid a very solid foundation for Hu in Nigeria, and senior officials of many ministries and commissions, such as the President, the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, are his father's good friends. This gives Hu an advantage over other overseas Chinese in business, but Hu does not rely entirely on his father's "shelter".

After studying hotel management in Canada, he refused his father's request to inherit the textile industry and set foot in the restaurant and hotel industry. He applied for the Shangri-La Hotel opened by Dr. Hammer in Lagos, the commercial center of Nigeria.

"Hammer doctor is a very legendary figure. He was the only person who saw Lenin at that time, the first person to fly over the Great Wall in a hot air balloon, and the boss of the Oriental Oil Company. " With diligence and intelligence, five years later, he stood out and became the general manager of Hu Hotel. Later, he bought the equity of this hotel, which was Hu's "first bucket of gold".

"Hotel owners are British and Chinese Americans. During our work in the hotel, we received the father of the President of the United States, Prince Charles of the British royal family, and the British Prime Minister and many other celebrities. I feel that my thoughts are really in line with the world. " Nonsense, this experience had a great influence on his business thinking. "Once they asked me, whose fault was it that you put 100 dollars on the table and the waiter stole it? I said it's the waiter's fault, of course. They said, no, it's your fault, because you're luring crime. There are many differences between Chinese and western business concepts, and I have benefited a lot from this study. "

Since then, Hu acquired part of the shares of Shangri-La Hotel and eventually became a major shareholder. In the 1990s, he invested $8 million to build the Golden Gate Hotel in Lagos, covering an area of more than 4,000 square meters and decorated with six layers of granite. This hotel has always been one of the most luxurious hotels in Africa. There are not only China restaurants in the hotel, but also China cultural exhibitions, which become a platform for spreading China culture. Now, Golden Gate Hotel has become a landmark building and tourist center in Nigeria. Hu zai's business has also expanded to eight industries, including construction, textiles and hotels. Invest heavily in building four of the most luxurious schools.

Because of his previous experience as a teacher, Hu attached great importance to education. In the late 1990s, Hu visited a school in Nigeria, and what he saw and heard made him unforgettable.

In a good school in Lagos, he saw that the school building was a 10 round wooden "building", like a yurt, with low walls on three sides, doors on one side and low doors and windows. Normal people have to bow to enter. These walls are made of bricks and iron sheets. There are no tables, no chairs and no bright lights. The floor was covered with dirt. Children bring their own Xiao Mu stools and read books on their legs. The weather in Nigeria is very hot, the highest temperature can reach more than 40 degrees Celsius, but there are no fans in the school.

Seeing the children sweating and studying in such bad conditions made Hu feel uncomfortable. He decided to build four beautiful schools for Nigeria. During the period of 1998, Hu helped Lagos to start building local schools, which are the four most luxurious schools in Nigerian history, with tall buildings with red bricks and white walls and green grass in front of the classrooms. The room is equipped with fluorescent lamps and electric fans. In order to prevent the glass from being broken, the windows of the classroom are specially designed as wooden shutters, and each school can accommodate 3000 students.

These four schools spent 200 million yuan, but the local government could not come up with the money when they were built. Hu paid for it himself. The money hasn't been returned to him yet, but he doesn't care. "Before the construction, we had anticipated such a situation. In Africa, things that don't pay back money may be encountered. However, we must leave the seeds of the next generation of friendship between China and Africa here, so that China-Africa friendship will last forever. "

After the completion of the school, the Nigerian President and relevant officials of the China Embassy in Nigeria attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony. 200 1 Due to Hu's contribution to Nigerian society, Nigerian Chief Amir officially appointed Hu as the local chief. You can see the governor and the president at any time.

"In many novels or film and television works, the chief is described as a local African tribal leader, with his own territory and people and special rights. Are you wearing a bird feather and holding a scepter? " When I heard reporter Hu's words, I laughed: He said that this "ancient image" has long been out of date, and only African chiefs before the 1940s were out of date. Now, the chief is more of an idea, a etiquette and an honor. "

In his view, the more important reason for being awarded the honor of Chief is that Nigerians feel that China is getting stronger and stronger. China is a friend of Africans and wants to know China through this channel. "Some people think that being a chief will give me privileges. In fact, I don't have any privileges and I don't get paid. " Hu smiled and said, "Perhaps the greatest privilege is that everyone respects me. I can see the governor and the president at any time. In fact, my main task is to contribute to them. "

"The biggest feeling after being a chief is that the responsibility on the shoulders is heavier. As a China native, he has such a title. To play the role of a bridge, we should publicize Africa more and more correctly, and we should also publicize China more in Nigeria and tell those black brothers who don't know the motherland a correct China. "

However, it is understood that as a director, Hu still has some privileges. He has an armed guard of nearly 100 people specially authorized by the relevant departments and under his command.

In July 2004, Nigerian President Obasanjo appointed Hu as special economic adviser to help the development of small and medium-sized enterprises in Nigeria, and he began to travel frequently between Asia and Africa.

Hu also has another identity, that is, the vice president of the China-Africa Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber of Commerce, led by China's Ministry of Commerce and other three organizations, aims to help private entrepreneurs from China enter Africa.

Nonsense, the way of folk diplomacy has many advantages, such as flexibility. "When you meet the president, you can hug and kiss, which is not appropriate as a formal official. We are more casual when dealing with officials. We can talk about everything. He can tell jokes, and so can I. Everyone laughed and was in harmony. For another example, the president or prime minister has changed, because we are non-governmental and do not get involved in politics. Therefore, after the change, we can do work from other aspects through non-governmental relations. " China-Africa cooperation is a strong alliance.

"China-Africa friendship is a deep feeling accumulated by generations. Many Africans know about the Tanzanian-Zambian Railway and China people's assistance to Africa. " Nonsense, several Nigerian ministers told him that when they were studying in London, they had studied the Red Book of Quotations from Chairman Mao. They understand the help of the people of China and China.

"As can be seen from the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, Africa also attaches great importance to China. This time, countries that have not yet established diplomatic relations with China also sent observers. On my first day back, I went out to take a taxi and found that there were few vehicles on the road. Many people ride bicycles, so I asked the taxi driver. The driver said with a smile, it's our old African brother. Beijing buses are restricted, and many private car owners voluntarily ride bicycles to support the summit! This is very touching. " Nonsense, this detail shows that the traditional friendship between China and Africa has a very deep accumulation among the people, and the people of China still have simple and friendly feelings towards their African brothers.

"Africa has a large market and abundant energy. Now Africa is China before 1985, and the next century is the century of China and Africa. The alliance between China and Africa is a strong alliance. "

"Africa has population, resources and market, China has technology and capital, and the central high-level officials attach great importance to Africa. The two sides can effectively complement each other and develop together. " Hu is full of confidence.