Zhang Furen: General Manager of Zhangjiajie Huangshizhai Cableway Co., Ltd.

Zhang Furen, male, Han ethnicity, 68 years old, junior college education, general manager of Zhangjiajie Huangshizhai Passenger Cableway Co., Ltd. The Huangshizhai cableway has operated safely for ten years and in 2004 was rated by the China Cableway Association as first among the nation's "Top Ten Cableways." It has received several state leaders and more than ten million domestic and international visitors cumulatively. Since 2000, the Huangshizhai Cableway Company has donated 100,000 yuan each year to the city's "Project Hope" to help impoverished students attend school. It donated 1 million yuan to build Zhang

　　In 1940, Zhang Furen was born in Fengyuan City, Taichung County, Taiwan Province, and in the 1950s studied at a wood industry vocational school. Later he ran a plywood wood business in Taiwan. Through decades of ups and downs in the business world, he experienced both the glory of entrepreneurship and the setbacks of failure. In 1992, he came to Zhangjiajie sightseeing with Mr. Zhang Ruitian, president of a wood company where he then worked. Zhang Furen, who had loved Chinese painting since childhood, was deeply shaken by the magical landscape before his eyes! The artistic realm that so many masters of the painting world dreamed of was vividly laid out before him! Could there really be fate at work unseen? The two Taiwanese businessmen, both surnamed “Zhang,” were infatuated with the scenery of Zhangjiajie, named after their own surname, and resolutely decided to invest and start a business here.

　　At that time, Zhangjiajie had only recently been established as a prefecture-level city, with inconvenient transportation and a weak foundation, belonging to the “old, minority, border, and poor” areas. Investing and running an enterprise here involved many difficulties, great risks, and unpredictable prospects. The board of directors of the Taiwan company was sharply divided over this, but after researching the mainland tourism market and Zhangjiajie's unique tourism resources, Mr. Zhang Furen was convinced the investment was reasonable. In 1993, the Taiwanese investor signed a joint venture contract with the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park Management Office: to build a passenger ropeway at the core scenic spot of Huangshizhai. As the Taiwanese representative and a key member of the construction command, during the five-year preparation period Mr. Zhang was far from his family, set up an office on the mountain, personally visited the construction site, and traveled back and forth among the gorges and steep cliffs, promptly discovering and handling various problems. From engineering survey and design, construction and installation, to completion acceptance and every other stage, he attended to everything personally and strictly controlled quality. In 1995, during ropeway construction, he discovered that the construction unit had not used the high-strength steel grade required by the design, and he firmly demanded rework and reconstruction. To ensure safety, he also purchased a complete set of advanced ropeway equipment and technology from the French company POMA. To ensure absolute safety and leave nothing to chance, in March 2000, nearly three years into ropeway operation, Mr. Zhang spared no expense to invite top mechanical and electrical engineers selected by the French company POMA to the company to conduct a comprehensive and systematic inspection and verification of the entire ropeway equipment, and required electromechanical technicians to participate in on-site tracking and learning, greatly benefiting them. High standards brought high quality, and precisely because of this, since the project was completed and put into operation in 1997, the ropeway has never had a safety failure.

Management is the soul of an enterprise and the source of its efficiency. This is Zhang Furen's fundamental belief in running a business. At the company's inception, a complete set of rules and regulations was established. Mr. Zhang strictly adhered to the principle of "where there are rules, they must be followed; where rules are violated, there must be accountability." Whenever a management responsibility incident occurred, he required the "three don't let go" approach: don't let go until the cause is thoroughly investigated, don't let go until responsibility is clearly assigned, and don't let go until it is handled. From ordinary employees to company leaders, whoever violated the rules was punished, all treated equally and handled fairly, so that everyone could learn a lesson and be educated. The company also established an Outstanding Employee Deed Award and a Grievance Award, publicly praising and rewarding employees who demonstrated exemplary spiritual civilization in serving tourists. Everyone in the company loved their work and was dedicated to it, regardless of pay, and voluntarily working overtime became a common practice. As long as advance notice was given, whether tourists wanted to go up the mountain early (even at 4 a.m.) or come down late, all on-duty staff arrived at their posts ahead of time to provide satisfactory service to tourists.

　　 With the rapid development of the tourism industry and changes in the market, Mr. Zhang decisively made a decision: to invite a quality management system certification body to conduct ISO9001 (2000 version) quality management system certification for the company starting in July 2001, and in December 2001 it passed acceptance and obtained the certificate. During the certification period, the certification body's consultants and the company's internal auditors together conducted a comprehensive and in-depth investigation of the company's current management situation. In response to existing problems and weak links, they carried out high-standard analysis and diagnosis, formulated rectification plans and measures, and implemented them step by step in a planned manner. After several months of careful and meticulous quality management activities, the company's quality management system was improved and perfected, the quality awareness of all employees was raised, and the company's quality brand was established.

　　 In order to improve the company's environmental management level and create an excellent tourism environment, the company began full employee participation in ISO14000 environmental management system certification in April 2002, vigorously carrying out various environmental management certification tasks and striving to obtain the certification certificate this year. The company also produced tourist satisfaction survey forms, extensively soliciting opinions from tourists and tour guides, and winning credibility through high-quality service.

　　 Talent is the foundation of enterprise growth. At present, 95% of the company's backbone staff at the middle level and above have a college degree or above, and 92% of ordinary employees have a technical secondary school education or above. All employees are recruited through open recruitment and selected on the basis of merit. All employees of the company must participate in training and can only take up their posts after passing the examination and obtaining a work certificate. Mr. Zhang obtained the station manager (manager) qualification certificate. The electromechanical technicians and attendants at the cableway station all obtained professional qualification certificates issued by the National Aerial Ropeway Inspection Center, and other professional and technical personnel also have corresponding qualification certificates for their positions. From July to December 2001, the company conducted IS09001 (2000 version) quality system certification and invited the certification body's consultants to train certification internal auditors. Seven people passed the examination and obtained internal auditor qualification certificates.

　　 Strict quality management brought substantial economic benefits. In the first year of operation, 1998, the company's operating income reached 10.98 million yuan, and it increased year by year thereafter, reaching 40.55 million yuan in 2001. In just four years, the company's total income reached 99.31 million yuan, total profit was 49.97 million yuan, and total taxes paid were 18.57 million yuan. In 2000, it was awarded the title of Advanced Foreign-Invested Enterprise by the Zhangjiajie Municipal Government, and in 2001 it was rated as an Advanced Taxpaying Enterprise by the Zhangjiajie tax system. With his outstanding achievements and diligent, dedicated spirit, Mr. Zhang won unanimous praise from people of all walks of life and employees: "If it weren't for the Taiwanese boss running the company, it might not have been run so well." As vice president of the Zhangjiajie Association of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Compatriots, Mr. Zhang also actively served as a bridge for Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan compatriots investing and starting businesses in Zhangjiajie, and did a great deal of beneficial work to enhance mutual friendship.

　　 Mr. Zhang believes that as a manager, to lead a team well, the important thing is to set a good example himself and to strictly demand of himself by personal example. He teaches his employees that doing good deeds starts with small things, and one cannot "fail to do good even if it is small"; good character and work style are accumulated bit by bit. He carries not the slightest air of a general manager—whenever he sees litter on the ground, he picks it up, deeply moving and inspiring both employees and tourists. He works diligently and hard, getting up at just past five every morning to go to the office to review various reports and data, keeping the company's daily situation clearly in mind. He regards safety as the life of the enterprise, never relaxing his efforts, and for years on end persists in inspecting important safety areas day and night. During the day, whenever he hears that the cable car has suddenly stopped or made an abnormal noise, he immediately rushes to the station building to organize handling and analyze the cause in a timely manner. Mr. Zhang has a motto: "Make friends with your heart." He matches his words with deeds. Once, a tourist waiting in line for the cable car fell and was injured in the crowded crush. Upon learning of it, he immediately rushed to the scene, organized rescue efforts, personally drove the tourist to the Municipal People's Hospital for treatment, bought food and expressed sincere concern, winning the tourist's trust and praise with his sincerity.

　　 Mr. Zhang Furen is already over sixty years old, yet he always holds himself upright, is full of vigor, and brims with enterprising spirit. In Taiwan, he once experienced the pain of a failed marriage and had not remarried for twenty years. In Zhangjiajie, he not only found a fulcrum for his career but also renewed a happy marriage with an affectionate Hunan woman. He is a person skilled at discovering and creating beauty. As early as 1999, he invited a landscaping company to plan and design, according to the company's terrain and landforms, a Hundred-Flower Garden covering more than 70 mu, mainly of plum blossoms, laid out in a pleasing, well-spaced manner. More than 400,000 yuan has now been invested, and over 4,500 fine plum trees of various varieties have been planted, as well as precious flowers and trees such as cherry blossoms, osmanthus, magnolia, dove trees, ginkgo, and sago palms. He also plans to build a "Hundred-Flower Valley" along the cable car line to make Huangshizhai more beautiful and charming. If possible, he also hopes to build a dam on the mountain to store water so that the vegetation and forest can be nourished at all times. This entrepreneur, born and raised on the island of Taiwan, has completely integrated himself into the magical landscape of Zhangjiajie and become a devout guardian of Zhangjiajie. 　　 Mr. Zhang Furen believes that the company is rooted in the fertile soil of Zhangjiajie, and its prosperity cannot be separated from society's support. Since the company has made money, it should repay society, help the needy, and do good deeds—an unshirkable responsibility. Starting in 2000, the company has donated 100,000 yuan each year to Zhangjiajie's "Project Hope" to help impoverished primary and secondary school students attend school. In 2000 and 2001, it donated 800,000 yuan over two years to school building construction in Zhangjiajie to improve teaching conditions. He personally donated 10,000 yuan to the renovation of dilapidated buildings at Zhonghu Township Middle School in Wulingyuan District, and 45,000 yuan to school building construction at Qingnong Township Primary School in Sangzhi County. He mobilized company employees to donate 6,000 yuan to "Project Hope" and more than 500 items of clothing to impoverished households. The company also arranged employment for a disabled person from a financially struggling family. Mr. Zhang's righteous deeds of doing good and helping the needy have spread far and wide and won universal praise. The poor students and parents who received help are all deeply grateful; the impoverished students wrote letters of thanks, determined to become accomplished and repay society in the future. The Zhangjiajie school also decided to erect a stele with an inscription as a permanent commemoration.

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