"Gold Award for Champion" of Benny Award
Benny Award for "Best Exhibit"
Arizona State--Colorado Grand Canyon National Park
California State--Mono Lake
California State--Yosemite National Park
Utah State--Bryce National Park
Profile
In his early years, Yang Feng was a teacher, while taking a leader position in a state-run enterprise. In 1994, he founded Great Aim Group as a merchant and successively developed more than ten premises. In 2013, he spent over 30 million Yuan on the purchase of white light communication technical patents. In the first phase, he invested 2 billion Yuan to build Great Aim International Building, the headquarters of LED white light communication project in Hengqin New District, Zhuhai.
Recently, the 66th awarding ceremony of Benny Award for Printing Industry of the US was concluded in Chicago, which was participated in by over 3,000 entrants from all over the world. The album of photography Pursuing Dream in Wilderness by Yang Feng, vice chairman of China Calligraphers Association (a member of Chinese Calligraphers Association) and chairman of the board of Great Aim Group, won a "Gold Award for Champion" and "Best Exhibit". This was the first time for the works of a Chinese to win the two awards. Yang said, it took him seven years to take all these photos. Behind the photos, he wished to attract the attention of Chinese people to environment protection.
As an experienced person in real estate, Yang reckoned that Zhuhai is a city full of dream and the houses in Zhuhai are set to increase in value in the future. The competition has become increasingly fierce after real estate giants were attracted to Zhuhai one after another. However, it has not caused a heavy pressure to the private enterprise Great Aim. In the future, the group will put equal weight on the fields of white light communication technology and real estate under the guidance of "one body with two wings". In the area of real estate, the group will focus on Zhuhai and Shenzhen, balance its presence in third-tier and second-tier cities, and try to introduce cutting-edge technology into the construction of houses and realize the group's vision to "navigate for life quality pursuers".
In talking about the prospect of white light communication, Yang told the reporter with Nanfang Metropolis Daily enthusiastically, the project's headquarters had already settled in Hengqin New District. Its miner positioning system passed national test last week. Besides, the technology has also been adopted in "reverse vehicle tracking", "nuclear power positioning and communication" and robot slideway positioning, which aims to fill a gap of the world.
The photos were not taken for winning an award
Daily: Recently, a report in Zhuhai's media has stirred curiosity among people in real estate industry. Your album of photos Pursuing Dream in Wilderness has won a gold award for champion and best exhibit in the 66th Benny Award for the printing industry of the US. "Luban Award" is familiar to the real estate circle, but "Benny Award" is seldom known. Can you talk about it?
Yang: Benny Award is a highest honor award which is named after the inventor Benjamin Franklin who had ever brought a revolutionary development to the printing industry of the US. He was a printing apprentice and through his own efforts he had finally become president of the US. Behind the halo of his presidency, he was also a pioneer of the American spirit and a founding father of the culture of Pennsylvania. It was beyond my expectation for me to win the award. In fact, before winning the award, I knew little about the award. After I won the award, I was visited by media at home and abroad and received congratulatory calls from my friends in the US. At that time, I finally understand the importance of the award.
Daily: It is said that it took seven years for you to finish the album of photos, during which you had traveled to and fro the west of the US for over 20 times. Why are you so obsessed in taking photos of the west of the US? What is the story behind the photos?
Yang: By accident I became interested in taking photos of the west of the US. I have seen the west of the US in the photos taken by Ansel Adams (1902-1984), a late master photographer of scenery. However, what really touched my heart was the moment I stood on the land of the west of the US, it seemed to take me back to the west of the US in the photos of Ansel Adams. For over a century, no significant changes had been observed in scenery, which is simply incredible in China. My good friend Wang Jianjun, also a photographer of scenery, has won a title of "Hasselblad Master" for two groups of photos, Remote Mountains and Water, Between Fields. However, many sceneries of which he has taken photos are now beyond recognition.
Daily: So you have been touched by the difference of environment and ecology at home and abroad?
Yang: Yes. Therefore, the significance of photos taken by Ansel Adams to the west of the US was more than photos themselves, but had aroused the awareness of the public at that time to protect the ecology and even hastened the legislation of National Park Act of the US. With the photos he had taken, he had made gobi deserts in the wild, mountains and peaks, and winding rivers preserved as unique landscapes in national or state parks. Today, the vast wilderness east of Yosemite and a peak at the center of Sierras Highlands were also named after Ansel Adams. That was also why I was shocked to see that the ecology of the west of the US was protected so well. I wish to arouse the awareness of ecology protection among Chinese nationals through the photos I have taken. In fact, I am pursuing my dream of photography along the footprints of Adams, which is the langage behind the photos as I have said.
Daily: So you name your album of photos as Pursuing Dream in Wilderness. For seven years, you have made frequent visits to the US. So what has impressed you deeply of the ways of ecology protection in the west of the US?
Yang: There are a lot. I just name two examples here. It took me six hours to visit The Wave of the US for the first time. Since there was no road from the park management office to the scenic spot, it was generally reached by following the marks and footprints left by previous tourists on the stones. That day, the visibility was low due to the snow storm. Most signs and marks along the way had been buried under the snow. In fact, after I trekked for three hours, I had reached a position only hundreds of meters from my destination. However, without clear signs to follow, I had circled there for another three hours before I found my destination. According to the regulations, only 20 persons are allowed to enter the scenic spot each day, which is determined by means of lottery drawing; otherwise, it will be punished seriously as an intrusion in violation of National Park Act.
Another time, I was searching for the totem carved by ancient American Indian based on photos of Ansel Adams. The rock sits below a cliff and is less than 2 ㎡, but it has been put under protection by the government of the US. Tourists are strictly forbidden to take photos or shoot videos of it from a short distance. Tourists are only allowed to watch it at a viewing terrace with a telescope set by the government at the cliff. For a better effect of photo taking, some cameraman intruded into the forbidden area. After a while, two groups of policemen arrived and put the cameraman under a serious accusation. Afterwards I learned that it turned out that the area around the stone was under surveillance, lest the cultural heritage might be destroyed.
If it were at home, such a famous scenic spot should have been commercialized in all forms. I think, China should learn more experience from the ecology protection methods of foreign lands in this area.
Daily: Pursuing a perfect effect of light and shadow and the scenery, many cameramen has guarded and waited for the best time around the clock and even often risked their life. Have you had such an experience when you took photos for your award winning album?
Yang: Of course. When I took photos of Death Valley, the temperature difference between daytime and night was great. In summer, the temperature at shady areas was as high as 49℃. However, to capture the first ray of sunshine in the early morning, we could only choose to camp in the Death Valley. My outing experience disallowed me to put foods in my car; otherwise, it might attract bears. The front claws of a bear can break the car window and take away your foods, which is very dangerous. That night, I indeed heard the roaring of beasts, which sends me to a shudder of horror even today.
Daily: Is it worthwhile?
Yang: For whatever things, firmness and persistence are needed. The two in fact can always be found in Chinese people. Photograph is my interest, and more my journey to pursue my dream. Just as written in the preface to my album of photos, though we can't retain our life, we can capture and frame our memory forever.
Therefore, all my fatigue has vanished instantly with the framing of light and shadow, whether after suffering various setbacks in the Death Valley for 19 days, or getting lost in the snow-clad land in The Wave, or waded across waist-deep water in Cannon Beach. All of this was attracting me to move on in pursuit of my dream. By taking these photos, I not only wish to pay my respect to the master photographers, but also wish to call on Chinese nationals to respect life, revere the nature and cherish and protect the ecology by showing the natural and ecological landscapes of the west of the US.
Daily: Have you ever thought of winning Benny Award?
Yang: I have taken the photos not for winning an award. Of course, I was very gratified when I learned that my album of photos could compete with international rivals on behalf of Chinese photography circles. It was a huge encouragement for me to win the honor in the photography circles which gather many excellent camaramen and is also a perfect leap for me in pursuit of best photos in those seven years. In the future, I will continue to pursue my dream in the world of light and shadow.
Daily: I remember there is a sentence on the website of Great Aim which is suitable for describing you: No stop until perfection is achieved. Have you also required yourself in that way in your pursuit of a dream in photography, so that you can finish the album of photos in seven years?
Yang: I have been interested in photography since my childhood. Afterwards I finally found the chance to resume it and continue to pursue my dream. In pursuit of my dream, I can also repay the society with my interest, which is very meaningful for me. I have persisted in my interest in such a way that I also pursue perfection.
The best product should start from its positioning
Daily: I heard that November 18 this year marks the 21st birthday of Great Aim Group. After accumulation in the real estate field for so many years, what innovative attempts is the group making at present?
Yang: We have always advocated a philosophy of "Navigate for life quality pursuers". In recent years, I have led our product R&D teams on several inspection visits to different countries to discover and learn more details from the West to improve the living quality, and transform and introduce a system that is geared to the living habits of Chinese customers.
Daily: What new concepts will you introduce the real estate development?
Yang: In the next step, we will introduce charging pile into the parking lot of our high-end project. For example, our Haiyun Xingwan project at Jiuzhou Port under research and development. With the progress of the times, battery cars will gradually replace traditional petroleum cars. Therefore, now in planning our projects, we will take into account this factor, to free our customers from any trouble in the future.
Daily: It was said that Great Aim Group has made a lot of efforts in the Haiyun Xingwan project located at Jiuzhou Port. Can you talk about it?
Yang: We believe that other than occupying top-class resources, the design of deluxe mansions should realize the following ten basic features: an omnibearing view from the indoor, access of each floor to landscape, a porch, a wide sitting room and visual field, partial overhung design, functional layout meeting changes of family members, multi-balcony transparent kitchen and bathroom, hotel style lobby (with a public space for receiving visitors), and a residential culture suitable for Chinese people.
In addition, we will make a big investment to introduce a patented technology of "passive house" from Germany. Zhuhai is a city with a high air humidity. In the spring each year, the air is untolerably humid, as a result of which clothes go mouldy and residents feel extremely uncomfortable. The mechanism of "passive house" is: A heat insulated system is employed to realize green environment protection. A new air-conditioning system is employed to realize an indoor environment with a constant temperature, humidity and oxygen concentration. So you can see a graceful clapboard design at the facade of the buildings from the working sketches of Haiyun Xingwan project at Jiuzhou Port. The design is not only made to make the buildings appear nice, but also needed for sunshade of the "passive house". In addition, there are also sun louvers that can be folded and unfolded automatically and an invisible thermal insulating layer on the walls. All these comprehensive measures have minimized the energy consumption of the houses and make the houses green and environment friendly. The temperature of air conditioner shows a high temperature difference vertically. For example, the temperature at the height of the head is 25℃ and 20℃ at the feet, as a result of which we will feel comfortable in the upper half of our body, but uncomfortably cold below our knees. The most comfortable humidity to human body is 50%. However, the humidity is basically higher than 80% in Zhuhai during the summer. The air conditioner will make us feel humidly cold. The "passive house" can offer a perfect solution to discomfort caused by air conditioner vent and the speed of circulating air. For example, the "passive house' adopts a capillary circulating network system. The refrigeration is realized through the capillary cold water tubes distributed in the ceiling, which is similar to "underfloor heating" in the north of China. What is circulating is cold water, so there is no "air-conditioned wind" at all. To coordinate this design, we directly increase the floor height to around 3.3 meters, whic no doubt will significantly increase the costs. Another example is the constant humidity system, which can dehumidify the indoor air repeatedly so that the humdity is maintained at a most comfortable level of 50%. As to the fresh air and constant oxygen system, after fresh air is filtered, the PM2.5 is removed. So with the circulation of fresh air, the ondoor has a high concentration of oxygen all the time. The air conditioner vent is designed at the corners of walls on the floor, so that we won't feel comfortable due to the speed of air circulation.
Compared with conventional technologies, the "passive house" technology can save energy by above 50% to maintain the same temperature. The owner not only can save running expenses for the owners, but also can offer a comfortable feel which is not available in an ordinary home. Therefore, it is the investment by the developer that has made the houses "valuable". We will keep in pace with the times and try to be foreward thinking in the area of technology so that the owners can enjoy life convenience from latest technologies. To realize this goal, we think that our "high" investment is worthwhile.
Daily: If these cutting-edge technologies are introduced into the construction of real estate projects, will it make the houses more expensive and increase the housing cost for customers?
Yang: This is an issue of foresight. If we start to consider the overall building cost control from drawings, the cost increase due to the increase of technology content will be limited. If the house is reconstructed after it has been completed, then the difficulty will be much bigger. To reduce mistakes, we have invited Gensler Architecture Design Firm, which has rich experience and is ranked No. 1 in the world, to design the buildings, which requires a very high design fee. The good side is that with the high-level control capacity of the architects on details, some designs that are prone to mistakes can be avoided in the earlier stage. Meanwhile, decoration company can be introduced at the time of architectural design. The decoration company can adjust the drawings based on the using habits of the ultimate customers, so that repeated investment can be saved for the subsequent refined decoration, which is good for cost control.
For example, our projects Great Aim International Building in Hengqin and Haiyun Xingwan at Jiuzhou Port were designed by the same design firm. Simply at the planning stage, the design had been confirmed after 15 revisions, after which we finally agreed on today's curve design. At the beginning, we referred to a benchmark of CBD in China--Shanghai Pudong CBD. We have discovered a funny contrast: If Jinmao Tower represents the past of Shanghai, Shanghai World Financial Center represents today's Shanghai, and only Shanghai Tower can stand for the future of Shanghai. The size of the plot for Great Aim International Building is not so large, and its height is not prominent among the high-rise buildings in Hengqin, but we decide to build a commercial complex that can represent the future of Hengqin and won't be out-dated to our customers several years later. For this purpose, we have adopted a lot of farsighted techniques in our architectural design, like, a five-floor design for the basement of the building, which hade created a record in Zhuhai; the three-floor-high lobby, with cylindrical and double-arc columns, which are very expensive but were finally adopted by us. The project as you see is more like a sculpture or an artwork. Its smooth contour has no specific form, as some says it looks like a flying butterfly, some says it looks like a gesture of victory, and some finds that it concides with the acronym of the group's Chinese pinyin "HC". In addition, the International Building has introduced the independently developed white light communication system of Great Aim. Its difference with common commercial signage system is that the white light communication can locate via LED chip, so that customers can easily find and communicate with merchants and brands with their mobilephone. As a principal patent technology of its high-tech segment, white light communication has begun to be operated based on market in large commercial complexes at home.
In sum, we will build quality products. We start from product positioning and strive for quality products in all aspects and throughout the process including construction, decoration and landscaping. The buildings not only must be nice and resident friendly, but also must be farsighted. Many other buildings that keep bragging about a lot of concepts from the time of drawing. When the cost exceeds the budget, they cut this and cut that until the whole building becomes totally different from what the developer promises to be at first. We have never done so. The moment we get the land and finish the drawings, we will have completed all our milestone plans. To achieve a better combination between product design and construction process, the group has begun to introduce BIM whole-process management system from the International Building project. We began the modeling from earlier design stage. In the analogue architectural model, we can correct all possible design errors. Under the guide of BIM, a lot of waste and mistakes that often happen in conventional construction can be avoided. At present the system is still seldom applied by developers at home, but we believe that for the long-term development of the group and large-scale development of real estate, BIM system is necessary. Our present investment will guarantee our technical strength for subsequent development. Our backstage strength is our comprehensive executive capacity in product positioning, cost control and milestone plans. We are striving for quality products in each step. We feel proud that our drawings need not be revised for construction. Recently, in order to design quality landscape to the requirement of International Building project, the group sent the whole team on an inspection visit to Spain.
On the greater influence of high-tech segment in the future
Daily: As evaluated by many people, Great Aim Group is a relatively stable enterprise in the real estate field. How do you evaluate your own enterprise?
Yang: For the real estate circles, whether it's a contractor or a developer, after each product comes out, they will feel sorry for their designs more or less when they look back. In our products, it's difficult for us to find aspects which we feel sorry for. From our earlier Yuehai International Garden to today's Nanwan International, when we look back, it is difficult for me to pick our faults. I am quite satisfied with the hardware of our products. Our products have also won a good praise among the owners.
Daily: Are there any areas you feel sorry for?
Yang: We have done not enough and well in details of property management, like how to communicate with the owners, discover problems and how to solve them. Especially compared with some big brand developers, we have lagged behind. In fact, we have made a big investment in this area. Now our vice president of the group has focused attention on this area. We must catch up in this area as soon as possible.
Daily: At present, Great Aim is mainly engaged in two fields, white light technology and real estate. In the future, what will be their proportions?
Yang: We will develop both equally under the policy of one body with two wings. Earning profit is the aim of every merchant. If one day I find a higher development potential in any of the two, of course, I will focus more of my attention on that segment.
Daily: As you observe, which segment will have a brighter prospect?
Yang: In the future, the high-tech segment will have a higher influence on us. Decades have elapsed since the implementation of reform and opening up policy, nowadays real estate has been counted as a traditional industry.
Daily: Which cities will be focused on in the real estate deployment of Great Aim?
Yang: Our attention will be focused on first-tier cities in China, and at present our focus of development is in Shenzhen and Zhuhai. The primary factors for us to choose a project are the development potential of the city and the location. In Shenzhen, we have made a big spending to reserve projects of 1.50 million ㎡. This is only the first project we deploy in Shenzhen. In Zhuhai, other than the reserved projects in Hengqin and Jiuzhou Port, we have just signed a project at Tangjia Bay, which will soon be commenced on the 21st birthday of the group. Next year we will roll out about 500 full sea-view houses into the market. Each house will enjoy an access to a sewview. The project will be positioned as a seaview home for urban elites and upstarts in Zhuhai. Other than deploying in Zhuhai and Shenzhen, we have also actively explored new concept real estates such as "holidaying estates", which are different from common tourism estates and farmsteads. In the suburban golden beach sea area of Xiamen Fujian facing Taiwan across a strait, the group is now engaged in the development of a "holidaying resort", which occupies 2,500 mu. A private manor is built with 15 mu as a basic unit so that the upstart class in pursuit of quality can travel back and forth by helicopter, treat their relatives and friends in their private manor and enjoy green organic vegetables and enjoy a quality life of "planting vegetables, fish farming, fishing in the sea and cutting firewood".
The problems in real estate market will be determined by the market
Daily: In recent years, quite many brand real estate developers have settled in Zhuhai. As a private enterprise, does Great Aim feel a big pressure in Zhuhai?
Yang: We have felt no pressure. Many large brand developers are developing projects in the same region as we do. While our projects are disadvantaged in landscape resource, we are not inferior to them in public praise and products. We even sell our products at a better price. I only require doing the products well and considering more for the owners rather than only consider profiting as a developer. We must be clear about the relationship between "active" and "passive'. It's very important for us to change from a passive status to an active one.
What is an active status? We must cling to our tenet of "Navigating for life quality pursuers", consider the comfort of "home" for the owners. After the drawings are confirmed, we need to consider how to do quality products, how to fulfill our milestone plans. For example, some costs can be saved, but if it causes inconvenience to the owners, we won't save such costs. After we have done good products and won recognition and praise from our clients, it will be easier for us to sell our houses and so we can recover the costs sooner. The costs that are originally expected to be recovered in one year can be recovered in some months. We can save the costs due to the occupation of funds, which is part of the active factors.
In a passive status, the products are not good. We won't do well no matter how much we spend on advertising and promotion. The market problems should be determined by the market. I just consider doing our products well. With good products, we will have the initiative in hands, so we will be under a smaller pressure. That's why I say we feel no pressure.
Daily: As an experienced developer, how do you predict the future of real estate in Zhuhai?
Yang: Zhuhai is a city full of dream. The government of Zhuhai has presented many good visions for the city, which can't be replaced by entrepreneurs. In fact, the government has done a lot for us, so I am optimistic about the future of Zhuhai.