Kuzior Jaroslaw: from diplomat to Shandong honorary citizen

Kuzior Jaroslaw (his colleges call him Gu Xiao according to his name's pronunciation), from Poland, the general manager of Shandong Tagao Mining Machinery Equipment Co, has lived in China for more than 20 years and speaks good Chinese. In September 2013, Kuzior Jaroslaw received the highest award given by the Shandong provincial government -- "Shandong Honorary Citizen" -- due to his continuous dedication to the exchange of culture, economics and technology between China and Poland.

Kuzior Jaroslaw shows his Shandong Honorary Citizen certification. Photo by Yang Chao]

The then 27-year-old was assigned to the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Shanghai in 1985, where he was the only Polish who could speak Chinese. Kuzior Jaroslaw served his five-year-term in Shanghai, and then, in 1992, Kuzior Jaroslaw ventured into the world of business and worked at a Polish shipping company in China. He then went back to the Consulate General to serve as a translator.

He didn't relinquish his title as an embassy staff until 2007 when Kuzior Jaroslaw  was invited by a Polish company to establish Shandong Tagao Mining Machinery Equipment Co with a local company in Shandong. He happily accepted the invitation.

Within four months, with joint effort by Kuzior Jaroslaw and all other founders, the Sino-foreign joint venture-coal machine manufacturing enterprise was born, the first of its kind in China.

Though alone in a different country and away from his hometown, Kuzior Jaroslaw has maintained a keen pursuit of life, ironing his clothes and a taking cup of Chinese tea in the morning.

Except for a month-long Christmas holiday when he visits his family in Poland, the general manager spends the other 11 months working in Shandong.

The Polish Shandong Honorary Citizen is keen on Chinese tea culture and loves to study the Chinese tea ceremony. [Photo by Yang Chao]