Hata Norio’s connection with China can be traced back to his days in high school and college.

The high school he attended offered Chinese classes. To arouse students’ interests in Chinese characters and the culture, the teacher came up with an idea: in the 50 minutes of class time, 30 minutes were for teaching and 20 minutes were for telling interesting stories about China, such as the Chinese emperors, or “The Heroes of the Marshes”, or Lu Xun. The teacher also brought pictures and all kinds of materials, among which those about the Great Wall and the plaza of the Gate of Heavenly Peace shocked Hata Norio, who decided to visit the places in person.

Later, he chose a Chinese literature major without a second thought. “There were only me and the professor on the first day,” says Hata Norio. “Now Chinese class draws hundreds of students.” This points to China’s growing influence.

Hata Norio wished to study in China but the two countries’ diplomatic relations had not been normalized so he had to give up. But he always kept that wish in mind. Upon starting his career, he found a company that was in an industrial exhibition in Beijing and joined it with the hope to visit China. However, for some reason the company stopped attending that exhibition and Hata Norio was disappointed again.

The dream was finally realized after Hata Norio learned typing, skills in trading and English for four months in a multinational company and was sent to their branch in Hong Kong because he was fluent in Mandarin.

Since then Hata Norio has lived in China for half his life.