In the summer of 2024, President Xi Jinping responded to Anna Pao Pui-hing, Ronald Chao Kee-young, and other Hong Kong entrepreneurs of Ningbo descent, affirming the patriotic and hometown-loving traditions of the Ningbo Merchants Group and encouraging them to integrate into the national reform and opening-up agenda.
In his letter to these entrepreneurs, President Xi mentioned, "You have inherited the excellent tradition of patriotism and hometown love from your predecessors, actively innovated and started businesses, donated to education, and contributed to the construction of your hometown and national development, interpreting the spirit of patriotism and hometown affection through practical actions."
Behind the correspondence lies the enduring sentiment and commitment of many Hong Kong individuals from Ningbo, who have been devoted to their hometown and serving their country for decades.
DotDotNews' special feature, "Ningboese Lineage in HK," interviewed Chao Kee-tung, the younger son of Chao Kuang-piu and honorary chairman of Ningbo Yongxin Optical Co., Ltd., along with his son Samuel Chao. The feature explores the profound bond between Ningbo and Hong Kong through their perspective and examines future collaboration opportunities between the two regions.
Hundreds of millions of kilometers from Earth, in deep space, asteroid No. 4566 silently orbits. This celestial body has been named "Chao Kuang-piu Star" by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center.
Tens of thousands of miles away, inside the Chinese Space Station, the "Tiangong Class" held its first lesson in December 2021. Astronaut Ye Guangfu demonstrated a precisely designed microscope in a weightless environment, and the TV screen immediately displayed the pulsating vitality of myocardial cells. This high-precision, zero-gravity space microscope experimental instrument originated from Ningbo Yongxin Optical Co., Ltd., a precision optical enterprise founded by Chao Kuang-piu during his lifetime.
From the pulsation of microscopic life to the exploration of macroscopic star seas, these two dimensions collectively attest to the unwavering attention and dedication of a patriotic Hong Kong entrepreneur of Ningbo origin to national development.
Breaking new ground: Pioneering industrial service to the nation with a "Dare to Be First" spirit
"My father always focused on industrial manufacturing in Hong Kong and was widely known as the 'Wool Spinner King'," recalled Chao Kee-tung, Chao Kuang-piu's youngest son and Honorary Chairman of Ningbo Yongxin Optical Co., Ltd.
In 1950, Chao Kuang-piu moved from Shanghai to Hong Kong and founded Hong Kong's first woolen mill. At that time, Hong Kong was on the eve of economic takeoff, and the textile industry gradually became its largest industrial sector. With his international vision and open-minded spirit, Chao Kuang-piu accurately predicted market trends. He planned a global expansion with Hong Kong as his headquarters, establishing production bases in Macao, Portugal, Mauritius, and other locations, and selling products worldwide.
However, beyond his brilliant commercial achievements, Chao Kuang-piu is more often lauded for his "ice-breaking" initiative during the nation's reform and opening up. After the Spring Canton Fair in 1978, the investment environment in the Chinese mainland was still in a wait-and-see stage. Chao Kuang-piu keenly perceived the changing tides of the era and resolutely invested millions of Hong Kong dollars to establish the Xiangzhou Woolen Mill in Zhuhai. This marked the first foreign capital investment in mainland China on the eve of reform and opening up, pioneering new models of "processing with supplied materials" and "compensation trade." It was hailed as "Factory No. 1" for China's reform and opening up.
"He was the first to propose compensation trade to the country." The establishment of this factory completely opened the door for foreign investment into mainland China, providing valuable experience for numerous Hong Kong and Macao compatriots and foreign businesses seeking to invest and set up factories on the mainland.
In 1984, Deng Xiaoping specifically called upon the Ningbo Merchants Group, issuing the rallying cry to "mobilize the Ningbo Merchants Group worldwide to build Ningbo." The following year, Chao Kuang-piu, in collaboration with Pao Yue-kong, Fok Ying-tung, and Chinese-funded institutions, co-founded Cathay Dragon.
At that time, Hong Kong's aviation industry had long been monopolized by British capital, with the Hong Kong British government even implementing a restrictive regulation that "only one airline is allowed to operate on one route." The establishment of Cathay Dragon shattered this monopoly, making a historic contribution to Hong Kong's smooth return to the motherland and its maintenance of international aviation hub status.
Samuel Chao, Chao Kee-tung's son and Vice Chairman of Yongxin (Novel) Optical, is almost the same age as Cathay Dragon. He recalls hearing stories from his father and grandfather from a young age about overcoming all difficulties to maintain operations. In his view, these stories precisely embody the spirit of the Ningbo Merchants Group, an unwavering determination to find solutions, no matter the obstacle.
Cross-Industry leap into optics: Forging the "Technological Eye" for national strategic equipment
Chao Kuang-piu profoundly understood that a nation's strength and standing are built upon its scientific and technological prowess. In the 1990s, he resolutely shifted his investments towards the high-precision optical instrument manufacturing industry, then in its nascent stage in mainland China, establishing Yongxin Optical in his ancestral hometown of Ningbo.
"Changing industries is like crossing a mountain; it was extremely difficult at the time," Chao Kee-tung frankly admitted. In the 1980s and 1990s, mainland industry primarily focused on introducing foreign capital and complete sets of equipment. "Indigenous innovation" wasn't even a popular topic then, with the assimilation of foreign technology being the mainstream. However, they deeply understood that true core technology could not be obtained merely through acquisition.
In 1997, Chao Kuang-piu invested in the struggling Ningbo Optical Instrument Factory, later restructuring it into Ningbo Yongxin Optical Co., Ltd. That same year, he invited Mao Lei, then chief engineer of Nanjing Jiangnan Optical Instrument Factory, to join Yongxin Optical. This marked the beginning of a nearly 30-year journey of independent innovation, transforming the company from a traditional "optical component supplier" into a high-end "intelligent vision solution provider."
At noon on April 29, 2021, the Tianhe Core Module of the Chinese Space Station was successfully launched, marking the full commencement of China's space station in-orbit assembly and construction. The microscope used for aerospace medical research within the core module was supplied by Yongxin Optical.
"The space microscope experimental instrument was disassembled, packaged, launched to the space station, and then installed by astronauts, requiring extremely high reliability," recalled Mao Lei, current Chairman of Yongxin Optical. "Even a slight increase in vibration would compromise the precision of the optical system. We conducted countless tests, yet our hearts were still uneasy during the launch. Our worries were finally put to rest only when the astronauts reported successful installation and transmitted clear fluorescent images."
Regrettably, just one month before this microscope was launched, Mr. Chao Kuang-piu passed away at Hong Kong Adventist Hospital at the age of 101. On the day of the launch, Mao Lei specifically brought a photo of the elder Mr. Chao to the site. "I wanted to let the elder gentleman know that his lifelong deep concern for the motherland's scientific and technological development had finally become a reality today," Mao Lei said.
Three generations of inheritance
"No matter the industry, it must be fundamentally supported by real industry." This was the invaluable lesson Samuel Chao, the third generation of the Chao family and Chao Kee-tung's son, absorbed from his elders' entrepreneurial journey. Consequently, after graduating from university, Samuel Chao chose to return to Ningbo and started from an entry-level position at Yongxin Optical.
Today, as Vice Chairman of Yongxin Optical, Samuel Chao is leading the company into the new fields of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine vision. He once stated, "Optical lenses are the eyes of AI." Explaining this, Samuel Chao noted, "In machine vision and data integration, accurate object recognition, and ultimately, the integrity and stability of data, largely depend on these optical lenses."
As a third-generation member of the Ningbo Merchants Group, Samuel Chao has a profound understanding of its spirit. He believes the core of this spirit is "dare to be first," a willingness to be a pioneer and trailblazer, while remaining exceptionally low-key and pragmatic. He adds that the best way to inherit this spirit "is to embody it through one's actions, both in business and in how one interacts with others."
A two-way journey integrating into the national strategy
Ningbo and Hong Kong, two cities born by the sea and prospering because of their ports, are intrinsically linked with intertwined destinies. When discussing the future of cooperation and development between Ningbo and Hong Kong, Chao Kee-tung encapsulated it with the phrase "two-way journey." He explained, "'Two-way journey' means actively considering how both sides can deepen cooperation to foster better development for both regions. In this area, we have endless opportunities and vast scope for action."
In fact, against the backdrop of Hong Kong's deep involvement in the national aerospace industry, Yongxin Optical is set to initiate deep scientific research cooperation with Hong Kong universities in 2026. This collaboration aims to jointly conceptualize and implement cutting-edge technological breakthroughs, including the national Mars exploration project. Furthermore, more Hong Kong-invested enterprises in Ningbo, founded by the Ningbo Merchants Group, are actively responding to the national call. They are strategically positioning themselves in frontier areas such as artificial intelligence, new energy vehicles, and intelligent manufacturing, becoming a leading force in fostering "new productive forces" and driving industrial upgrading.
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