Wang Mingang, born into a shipbuilding family in Guangdong, studied shipbuilding and graduated from the University of California. After graduation, he returned to Hong Kong to take over the family business. He expanded the company, which originally specialized in shipbuilding, into a 7,000-staff enterprise with multiple international businesses such as finance and real estate.

Based on his interest in Chinese culture and history, he believed in using cultural resources to promote the economic development of West China. He was known as the “Silk Road Businessman.” In the 1990s, he invested more than 200 million yuan ($31.44 million) in West China, the first Hong Kong businessman to put such a large investment in the region. He also invested another 200 million yuan in his hometown Dongguan, Guangdong, becoming the first Hong Kong businessman to join in mainland port construction. After a decade, he started to introduce Silk Road culture to the world. He is now preparing for the second marathon in the Flaming Mountains in Turfan, Xinjiang. The first competition was held in Dunhuang, a major stop on the Silk Road known for its Buddhist caves and paintings. “I prepared one year for the first marathon and lost a lot of weight,” said Wang. His interest in West China has dedicated him to the development of the region.