A foreign lady was honored in China

   Bitten Hogh, a Dane who built a bridge for Yunnan

Sitting among women in a meeting which was held in honor of “Excellent Business Woman” and “Excellent Woman Working Team” at the Great Hall of People in Beijing on January 12th ,  a foreign lady drew a lot of attention with her golden hair and blue eyes. The foreign lady was Bitten Hogh from Denmark. For ten years she has incredibly devoted herself to the 394,000 square kilometers area of Yunnan and worked hard to establish a successful business. She was recommended by the Yunnan Chamber of Commerce and the Yunnan Women’s Union to be honored as an example of “Excellent Business Woman” in China.

Bitten Hogh is a Dane. After receiving her MBA degree at a Danish university, she worked for the Arhus (a city of Denmark) Government as a business consultant, until she was invited to teach at the International Trade College, of Yunnan University, in 1994. During her second year in Yunnan, an earthquake of 6.5 Richter magnitude hit FaWo Village in Wuding County. When she and her colleagues took money and clothing to the village, the poverty of the villagers made a deep impression on Bitten. Since then, she has had a burden for these people and has thought about ways to improve their standard of living. “I feel that Yunnan needs me. To stay at Yunnan is more significant than to be back to Denmark. And I want to be a person who builds “the bridge” for Yunnan,” said Bitten Hogh.

After two years of teaching, Bitten made a surprising decision. She sold all her possession in Denmark, and resigned from the Arhus Government. She then set up the "Danyun Business & Consulting Affair Co. Ltd." with the money from the sale.  The company started small, with only three people, Danyun now has a staff of 18 workers. 

“I feel the happiness when I live in Kunming. Kunming people are friendly, they are always willing to help others. I never felt hopeless wherever I was. This is why I chose to stay here,” said Bitten. She is not sure whether she will stay here for the rest of her life, but she has already received a ten-year-extended business license, which means she will spend another  decade to develop her business and help more people.

She set a stage by working hard for many years to improve the situation of the people of Yunnan. Bitten Hogh invited foreign training organizations to come to Kunming and they offered business training and lectures for nearly one thousand managers in Yunnan. She once succeeded in getting the Danish Government to sponsor enterprisers to visit and study in Denmark. In addition, she discovered that the English level in Yunnan province was low and limiting the opportunities for people to exchange overseas. So, she started an English training class for IELTS at Danyun as soon as she was given the permission do business. Since then, about one thousand IELTS candidates have achieved satisfactory points after attending Danyun’s English classes.

Bitten has devoted all her business expertise to the improvement of Yunnan. She is committed to Yunnan and greatly admired for the work she has done, especially in the villages of Wuding.

Bitten Hogh expanded the business scope of Danyun in 2001 and began a nonprofit project—“Thread of Yunnan”—in Tianxin village, Wuding. This handicraft project is especially designed for countryside women. As well as receiving money, the women involved in this project are taught everyday life skills. The women are enthusiasted about the project and the number of people involved has increased from 7 to 196. These numbers include the Miao, Yi, Lisu, Dai and Han people who come from 5 different villages.

Bitten Hogh i a person who never gives up and always goes straight towards her goal, in spite any difficulties. The one saying Bitten Hogh doesn’t like is: “Let it be. Let it be.” because whatever she does she strives for improvement and perfection.