Across China: A British family's China ties across 6 generations

Simon Haworth, a British entrepreneur in China, got his first impression of the country from his grandmother's diary.

"The Chinese people were all very curious about us and stood gaping wherever we went. On being asked what was so curious about our appearance, they said it was our yellow hair, pink faces and high noses," wrote Dorothy Haworth of package holidays in China in 1963 and 1967.

You would have to go even further back from the era China threw open its doors to the world to find the first engagement by Simon Haworth's family here. He is now among numerous foreign nationals doing business in China, but the 55-year-old represents the fifth generation of his Cheshire-based dynasty to have been in this position in the past 140 years.

Simon's main investment is in a bioindustry park in Wuhan. One of his firms has created a stream of medical diagnostics, with the latest targeted at patients with tuberculosis. He is also getting together a fund to invest in European companies interested in bringing new technology to China.

Last year, the municipal government of Wuhan granted him the Yellow Crane Friendship Award in recognition of his contribution to a city eager for foreign investment and technology. The award is the highest honor the city of 10 million gives to a foreigner.

"To me, it seems like I am simply following the path prepared so well by my ancestors," Simon said. In 1875, his great-great-grandfather, Henry Gaddum, set up a company importing silk from Shanghai.

According to family archives, Henry sent his eldest son Harry to Shanghai in the 1880s. Harry continued to manage the silk business until he retired, passing the business over to his son, Peter.

The current owner of the company, which has developed into the UK's leading importer and supplier of silk, is Simon's cousin, Toby.

What brought the family's lasting ties with China to Simon's attention are the articles written by Dorothy Haworth, together with film footage taken by his grandfather during their China trips. They provide a rich source of information and demonstrate the keen interest that my family held for China and Sino-UK interaction, Simon said.

He showed Xinhua Dorothy's diary. "None of us encountered anything except kindness and friendliness," according to one entry written after the author's visits to places including Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Hangzhou, Harbin and Jinan.

The deepest impression Dorothy and her husband got of the Chinese is their honesty. She recounted a tale from the Canton Fair. "Some man who was having a meal there left four and a half yuan on the table; so the following year there was a notice up on the board saying that if the gentleman who left this sum of money on the table last year would call at the office he could get it back."

After coming to China in 2009, Simon has formed his own new ideas.

He believes there is great potential for cooperation in biotechnology and new energy between China and the UK. "I am convinced that a significant proportion of future Western medicines will be derived from traditional Chinese medicine and we need to increase research in this area," he said.

"If I really want to get something done -- a drug developed, a device designed and manufactured or a new clean technology implemented then I will choose China as the venue every time," he said, explaining that he is impressed by the "Do it now" attitude in China compared to the cautious approach normally adopted in Britain.

"China is already innovating to a greater degree than many technologists in the UK realize and the younger people in China are beginning to embrace a Silicon Valley-style start-up mentality. This change will of course be just as shocking to many older, traditional Chinese professionals as it will be to Europeans and Americans."

"My family's long term commitment to China is a lesson to me, and my responsibility is to carry the flag to the next generation," Simon said.

Simon's elder son, George, 23, came to Shanghai for internships in 2012 and 2014. The second son, William, is looking forward to coming to China for an internship too in summer this year.

"I believe China is just stepping up to its proper place now, taking its place on the world stage at last. My children's careers will be dominated by the growing impact of China and they will be able to elevate their own position in a competitive world if they can learn about China, differentiate themselves with language skills and begin to develop the long-term relationships that will prove so important to them," Simon said.

"For my children and me, China is the future." Endi