Zhang Xiangli

I was born as the eldest of three brothers in a rural village in Hailun County, Heilongjiang Province, China. I still vividly remember how excited I was when, in the fifth grade of elementary school, I received a gift of 12 colored pencils from Masaichi Hara , who had come from Iwamizawa City, Hokkaido, to teach rice cultivation. This is where my connection with Hokkaido began.

He entered university in Harbin in 1990. In his third year, he met a Japanese language teacher from Sapporo, and through their deepening friendship he decided he wanted to study abroad in Japan.

After graduating from university in 1994, that teacher acted as my guarantor, and I came to Japan in April 1995. After studying at the Sapporo International Japanese Language Institute for one year, I entered the Graduate School of Engineering at Hokkaido University (majoring in Architectural Engineering) in 1996. I graduated from the same graduate school in June 1999.

In December of the same year, together with his colleagues from the voluntary organization "Chinese Culture Salon," he established Hokkaido China Work Ltd., running Chinese language classes and providing interpretation and translation services. In 2002, he registered as a travel agency and began operating a travel business to China. In addition to arranging inspection tours of China for banks and economic organizations, he also began undertaking China-related projects for Hokkaido and Sapporo.

With the launch of the Japan Tourism Agency in 2008, and the move to attract more tourists to Japan, the company entered the inbound tourism business, focusing on group tours. However, the company faced the dilemma of not being able to fully convey the true charm of Hokkaido, as cheap group tours with poor quality did not increase customer satisfaction.

So in 2015, in order to shift inbound travel from "quantity" to "quality," we established Premium Hokkaido Co., Ltd. Starting with travel arrangements and consulting for the wealthy, we have now expanded our business to include real estate brokerage and the manufacturing and sales of Hokkaido soybean foods.

He currently serves as chairman of the Hokkaido Chugoku Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a general incorporated association, and vice chairman of the Hokkaido Golf Tourism Association, a general incorporated association.

When my company faced the threat of bankruptcy during the SARS epidemic in 2003, I was so moved by the help I received from the many people of Hokkaido that I wanted to give back to them. I have now completely fallen in love with Hokkaido and become a fan of the city. I will continue to spread the appeal of Hokkaido to the world and work hard to make Hokkaido a better place.