Cheng Lijun delivers a keynote speech at the inauguration ceremony of the America Window-Muscatine Center in 2016. [Photo/qz.gov.cn]

Cheng Lijun, born in Kaihua county, Quzhou in 1970, has made it his mission to introduce Chinese culture to the United States.

Cheng was previously a successful investor in the real estate, animation and internet industries. However, in 2007, when he was misdiagnosed with advanced lung cancer, Cheng decided to do something more meaningful.

In May of the same year, Cheng arrived in the US and asked for a place to showcase Chinese culture. The answer he received was "I don't care", which revealed to him the lack of interest in China among many ordinary Americans.

In 2014, after thoroughly investigating the American market, Cheng founded China Windows Group Inc in the US, which has forged profound friendships with the local government, influential families and activists and invited five groups of representatives from the local government and companies to visit China.

In 2015, thanks to Cheng's efforts, Muscatine, Iowa transformed a residential building where Chinese president used to stay into a memorial hall as a witness to local cooperation and folk friendships between the two countries and named it the House of China-US Friendship.

In 2016, the America Window-Muscatine Center was inaugurated at Yiwu International Trade City, marking the beginning of folk exchange between Yiwu and the US.

In the same year, Cheng, along with two other companies, launched "Chinese Culture World Tour – 2016 Muscatine China Culture Week", which introduced various traditional Chinese intangible culture heritages to local Americans, including facial makeup, seal cutting, dough modeling, and Chinese yo-yo.

"I'm determined to help more American people learn about China as well as my hometown Kaihua county," said Cheng.