Wang Hong in life

Recently, my Chinese friends were teaching me a new Chinese term: "BMW Girl." It was a new expression for me, but definitely not a new concept. If BMW Girl is a foreign term, here is the brief. Though I had never heard this phrase it comes from something that actually happened almost 10 years ago in 2010. The phrase came during a popular TV game show called: "Fei Cheng Wu Rao" or "If You Are the One" when a contestant, Ma Nuo, responded to a question about love by saying: "I would rather cry in the backseat of a BMW, than laugh on the back of a bicycle." As a romantic and believer in true love, this response although funny is a bit heartbreaking, especially because of the truth behind it.

In America our similar term might be "gold-digger." I spoke with some friends from around the world who are all living in Tianjin to see what their countries' word for this characteristic is. In Serbian you might say: "Sponzorusa." In Italian maybe: "Cacciatrice di dote." In Nigeria, you might say "Odoko," which is Yoruba, one of the 3 popular dialects. In Spanish, maybe you would say: "Una mujer interesada." In French you have two options: "Croqueuses de diamant" or "matérialiste." In Mongolian: "Шуналтай хүүхэн" and "Золотоискательница" in Russan. While here in China, I am told that bài jīn nǚ, is the word for this type of women.

In an interview: "Ma pointedly denied that she was a "gold digger." Saying that she "just wanted to reject [her suitor] in a creative way."

After hearing this new term I was inspired by my friend who is truly an inspiration and made me think of a new term. "BYD girl." What is a BYD girl, you ask? My friend who inspired me is a powerful business woman, boss, innovator, inspiration, etc. She is the opposite of the BMW girl and seeks making her own way in the world. She works for BYD, so the term swapped perfectly. This article is not meant to criticize the BMW girl or any woman at all, but just shine the spotlight on someone who is working hard to build a dream.

Why I am I inspired by the BYD girl? Because the BYD girl laughs at the BMW girl from the driver's seat of her Jaguar. Although my friend works for BYD she drives a Jaguar. She is a single mom, who after her divorce decided she was going to focus on her career and son. She is a business woman and some Chinese may even describe her as a "boss." Wang Hong is her name and she is from Hanggu and grew up here in Tianjin. She says: "I believe that women, whether single or remarried, have to live on their own abilities, and not be dependent on anyone, including their husbands." "Despite the impermanence of life, and its ups and downs we all choose some aspect of our life, especially our mindset. Life may be full of many unpleasantries at times, but some things are dependent on our attitude towards life. I believe our mentality not only affects our work but also determines our fate. I love my work, it is not just a job it is also something very personalized to my skills, talents, and character. BYD has recently soared to a new stage of value in China. BYD is a new leader in vehicles and the leader of our domestic vehicles. It represents the mature development of the country's leading technology and is more conducive to urban environmental protection. BYD has quietly entered the hearts of people."

When Wang Hong was telling me about the BYD company, the description sounded like a Chinese version of TESLA, and illustrated a company dedicated to innovation and sustainability. Something else that I didn't know about BYD was that it was an acronym for "Build Your Dream" and that is exactly what Ms. Wang is doing for herself.

After doing a little research on the company I was very impressed. According to the BYD website: "BYD Company Ltd is the world's largest electric vehicle manufacturer in both consumer electric and commercial/industrial vehicles. We use our global EV manufacturing demand to drive substantial component-spend leverage and manufacturing scale, a global leader and innovator in battery technology, provides large-scale energy storage systems, distributed energy storage systems and micro-grid systems to customers around the world." The Chinese brand is also not only domestic but has a far reach around the world. "BYD Energy Storage Solutions have been installed in more than 40 countries around the world for a combined system capacity of 250MWh since 2009.

Wang Hong at work

Wang Hong has been with BYD for a year but has made quick headway within the ranks. One of the things she loves most about BYD are her colleagues and the people she works with. I asked her how she would describe her day-to-day work and she said: "To put it simply, it is to actively and efficiently lead the product promotion team. When Wang Hong is not working, one of her newest leisure hobbies is learning English. She says English is a hobby that can also benefit her future and she has really started to enjoy this new beneficial hobby. She also enjoys fitness and traveling. She has done some traveling in China, but now that her hard work is paying off, she says she is looking forward to some international travel. Her top two future travel destinations are: Finland and France. Finland because it is beautiful and the hometown of Santa Claus. Paris, France because of the Eiffel Tower, rich culture, and beautiful art. Wang Hong says that: "traveling enables us to learn a lot of knowledge that cannot be learned from books or studying. When traveling I like to see beautiful scenery and have new experiences. The one thing I don't like is mountain climbing, because I am afraid of heights."

After being in China for a while as a westerner I still am having a hard time completely understanding Chinese marriages, love, and romance; but at the same time have come to realize how love can be the same anywhere in the world. I am speaking as an outsider, so maybe I am wrong, but I think that the love and romance culture in China is changing a bit and I guess all over the world. Some people are waiting and holding out for true love and some are giving up on the idea of love. Some are becoming more independent and not rushing into marriage, and some are giving up on marriage all together. Some may say that romance is something you can't buy, while others may say that romance has a high price. Some women are waiting for the perfect person and like the BMW girl others are looking for the person with the perfect pocket. Whatever your view I hope you find or have found what your looking for.