青春驻点日记 | 扎根中亚丝路 用青春描绘奋斗手册

个人简介

Hello everyone. My name is Hu Xingyu, a staff member of the Market Development Section at the Central Asia Office of the Overseas Engineering Division, MCC22. The year 2026 marks a critical period for our Central Asia Office, as we start from scratch to break new ground. Today I would like to take you to our "headquarters" in Almaty. In this snow-capped city, witness how we, as overseas practitioners, forge our path for market expansion at the western gateway of the Belt and Road Initiative.

雪山之下，我们的驻点与起点

Nestled amid snow-cloaked mountains, our modest foothold in Central Asia sits at 7 Qarashash kóshesi, Almaty. Though not located in the prime downtown commercial district, it lies close to government agencies and key partner clients, enabling efficient formalities processing, business communication and field visits.

The office space is not spacious, yet it bears all the hallmarks of a pioneering start-up phase. On the wall hang maps of the five Central Asian countries and the MCC22’s global project layout, outlining our destinations and business footprint. Dense notes on the whiteboard record real-time project progress and well-planned client engagement schedules. Half of the filing cabinets hold compilations of Kazakhstan’s construction codes and fiscal-tax policies; the other half are filled with business cards, local research ledgers and photos taken during site surveys. Two pairs of work boots lean quietly in the corner, dusted with grit from Gobi mining sites — silent testimony to every step our team has taken to grow from the ground up and expand our business territory.

Opening the window reveals rolling snow-covered mountain ranges: a unique charm of Almaty, and also part of our everyday expatriate life. In the early morning, we organize work and plan itineraries amid mountain daylight. Late at night, by the glow of city lights, we review Russian-language bidding documents and prepare for site visits the next day. Simple and unpretentious, this workplace holds our passion and commitment. It serves as our solid outpost for establishing a foothold in Almaty, exploring Central Asian markets along the Silk Road and pursuing our aspirations.

拓荒者的日常：把每一步都踩实

Unlike mature markets, the Central Asia Office is in a vital phase of laying foundations and opening up new opportunities. Our six-member team manages bidding work and system building, attends exhibitions, conducts site investigations and meets clients. Every day keeps us on the move.

One of my most memorable experiences was co-organizing and participating in the China-Kazakhstan Forum on Sustainable Development of Non-ferrous Metals. We began preparations half a month in advance: polishing Russian-language corporate capability brochures repeatedly, preparing bilingual flyers highlighting core cases of non-ferrous-metal mines and EPC contracting, and practising corporate presentation scripts over and over for Russian and English technical terminology.

Visitors thronged the exhibition venue. We received dozens of guests each day: technical directors from local Kazakh mining companies, who asked detailed questions about our track-record and experience of construction in frigid high-altitude regions; representatives of Chinese-funded mining enterprises investing in Kazakhstan, who arranged on-site visits immediately after the forum; and engineers from local design institutes, who discussed construction technologies with us using project drawings.

While my translating colleague presented MCC22’s full-industrial-chain strengths in Russian with a stack of business cards in hand, I jotted down clients’ project requirements. After two busy exhibition days, our voices were hoarse and our shoes were covered in dust. Nevertheless, we obtained more than 20 valid project leads and established connections with seven key potential clients. At that moment, I truly understood: markets do not come waiting. They are built piece by piece through every business card handed out and every sincere conversation.

Thanks to rounds of visits and negotiations, we have built a four-tier project reserve database. We have secured the EPC+O&M contract for the meteorological observation tower project of Jingyun Aluminium in Kazakhstan, marking our market breakthrough in Kazakhstan from zero. Building on this achievement, we keep track of multiple key projects in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, striving to expand from single-project success to multi-point progress.

Genuine cost assessment cannot be done merely behind a desk. To build the local resource system known as "Five Databases and One Price Standard" and ensure solid bidding preparation, site surveys have become routine work for us.

For the smelter-plant survey in Karaganda, we set off early from Almaty and drove for more than six hours across endless dry steppes, with wind-driven dust beating against the car windows. Upon arrival, we toured the plant area together with the owner’s engineering manager, inspecting site conditions, geology and existing pipelines, while inquiring about local labour ratios and construction-material transportation radii. In my notebook I recorded every on-site detail: load-bearing capacity of plant roads, local labour efficiency, hauling distances for sand and gravel — all critical data unavailable from desk research.

We grabbed a quick lunch in a nearby small town and spent the afternoon inquiring about prices at local building-material markets and machinery-rental vendors. By the end of the trip, three full pages of notes were taken and hundreds of on-site photos were stored on our phones. Back at the office, we gained solid insights for our follow-up work.

Cross-regional expansion is part of our job. Centred on Kazakhstan, our business extends to neighbouring countries, including Kyrgyzstan, covering Astana in the north, Karaganda in the east and Bishkek in the south. Frequently travelling between two or three cities within a single week, we meet clients and conduct site surveys by day and sort documents and revise proposals or review quotations while travelling at night. Our suitcases are always packed with corporate brochures, qualification documents and research forms. Starting from Qarashash Street, our footsteps stretch across steppes, Gobi deserts and mining zones. Every mile we travel paves the way for MCC22’s business growth in Central Asia. 

练内功：把每一件小事做扎实

Market outreach relies on field work; competency improvement calls for in-depth learning. Overseas pioneering work demands not only frequent travel but also meticulous execution and solid expertise. Faced with brand-new local industrial codes, compliance frameworks and linguistic environments in Central Asia, we make up for capability gaps, establish systems and improve proficiency through real-world practice, consolidating a solid foundation for local-based operations.

In accordance with local Kazakh industrial standards, we systematically sort out full-process bidding specifications for local projects. We break down Kazakhstan’s technical codes, approval requirements, fiscal-tax compliance provisions and bidding rules, integrating them into standardized bidding templates. This addresses challenges caused by unfamiliar local bidding standards and non-standard documentation. Meanwhile, we support localization efforts by sorting out local regulations on industry and commerce, taxation, foreign-exchange administration, labour employment, and environmental protection, establishing an institutional framework for the MCC22’s regular and compliant local operations.

This exhibition was coordinated by the Department  Refined client management is another priority. We create classified profiles and implement tiered management for 31 core clients. A maintenance mechanism featuring dedicated contacts, senior-level follow-up visits and dynamic updates ensures regular communication, enabling us to accurately grasp clients’ development plans and project demands for more targeted client services and efficient business engagement.

Language proficiency is an essential skill for expatriate assignments. Though equipped with basic English skills, we encounter extensive Russian-language scenarios in Central Asia filled with complex technical terms. I keep a terminology notebook at hand in my daily work, recording and memorizing professional vocabulary for construction, mining and metallurgy encountered during client meetings, site surveys and technical exchanges. Every bit of progress is hard-won practical competence forged in front-line practice.

The team maintains a mentoring culture for mutual growth. Colleagues rich in bidding experience share practical skills for document compilation, cost estimating and quotation calculation, enabling newcomers to get up to speed quickly. Our six-person team supports one another and tackles challenges together, accumulating experience and sharpening expertise through arduous routine work to fuel future market breakthroughs.

驻点心声：把根扎进中亚热土

In Almaty, apple blossoms blanket hillsides in spring; summers are cool and pleasant; autumn paints forests in rich colours; winters wrap the city in snow-capped mountains. Occasionally taking a stroll after work amid mountain-scented breezes, I often think of my family and colleagues back home.

Frankly speaking, expatriate life is far from glamorous. Communication barriers stemming from linguistic and cultural differences, pressure during critical project phases, and homesickness on festive occasions are all real parts of overseas assignments. Yet whenever long-tracked projects move forward steadily, whenever the meteorological-tower project delivers our Kazakh-market breakthrough, and whenever clients shift from cautious scepticism to recognition and trust in MCC22’s professionalism, the sense of achievement that "persistence yields results" outweighs all hardships and fatigue.

From initial unfamiliarity with local policies, markets and surroundings upon arrival, to independently liaising with clients, carrying out site surveys and managing bidding procedures, every team-member has grown through real-world assignments. We are fully aware of existing challenges: further strengthening professional reserves, expanding high-quality project pipelines and upgrading our localization capacity. There are no shortcuts to overseas pioneering. Only continuous learning, steady exploration and sustained commitment can help us gain a firm foothold and achieve long-term success in unfamiliar markets.

The Silk Road stretches far for determined travellers. Based at the western gateway of the Belt and Road Initiative and rooted in the broad land of Central Asia, we will keep breaking new ground through practical work and pursuing long-term development with solid efforts. We will press ahead with key projects, improve local operating systems, and enhance corporate reputation. Riding the wave of China-Kazakhstan industrial-capacity cooperation, we will explore new avenues and deliver new achievements, letting youthful passion shine brightly in our pioneering journey along the Silk Road.