Turkish entrepreneur sees magic in his life story at Huaqiangbei

As a huge fan of both Chinese culture and Feng Youlan, a well-respected Chinese philosopher and educator from the modern era, Yigit chose to come to China after completing his master's program. "I love Chinese culture, but in Turkey it's difficult to get first-hand information about China because Chinese books are often translated into English first and then into Turkish. And, during the process, a lot of things are lost," he said.

"Chinese culture is extensive and profound. China has a history of about 5,000 years and it's the only one that was not interrupted. There is nothing that's completely right or completely wrong in Chinese philosophy. Every right includes a wrong and every wrong has the right side, so I think it's natural and peaceful, not perfect, as is all humanity," he said.

When Yigit first came to Beijing in 2008, he applied to join the doctoral programs at Tsinghua University and Zhejiang University. Knowing that his real interest is in philosophy of law, he successfully applied for placement at the China University of Political Science and Law and studied under a professor who teaches Feng Youlan's philosophies.

"As I learn more about China, I love the country more. My experience here has really broadened my horizons," Yigit said.

After graduating in 2014 with a doctoral degree in nomology, Yigit worked on complex cross-border cultural deals for the cultural department of the Turkish Embassy in Beijing. "I mainly translated things related to Turkey that happened in China into Turkish," Yigit told Shenzhen Daily.

However, he decided to leave his work in government because of the low salary.

While working for the government, he had a part-time job as an operations manager at Neusoft, the largest IT solutions and services provider in China.

It was because of an order of 45,000 radios that Yigit left Beijing for Shenzhen. "A friend of mine asked me for 45,000 old-fashioned radios, which are hard to find, but I found one that cost $12. Later, I found a module in Dongguan which cost only $3.5," he said. "In one month, I had made five times more than I made at Neusoft in five years," he continued.

"I decided to come to Shenzhen because this is the center of science and technology and a city where electronic products are developed," he said.

Beijing and Shenzhen are different in the eyes of Yigit. "In Beijing, people always care about who you are but in Shenzhen people only ask you 'what do you do?'" he said.

As a businessman from Turkey, which is one of the countries along the Belt and Road, Yigit thinks highly of the initiative. "The Belt and Road Initiative is a good way. In ancient times, it sold Chinese products all over the world. In modern times, we can take advantage of it in a different way to export China's technologies to the rest of the world."

As an expat who has been living and working for more than three years in Futian District, Yigit loves it here. "Futian is the center of Shenzhen, and Huaqiangbei is the heart of Futian. New things and people with new ideas emerge here first," he said. "As the saying goes, every life has a story and every story needs magic. Huaqiangbei gives me a chance or a way to establish magic in my life."