Susan: The Chinese Woman Who Was Received by a Foreign President and Mines Stone on the Pamir Plateau
The mining area on the Pamir Plateau sits at an altitude of over 3,000 meters.
The wind cuts straight across the face, sharp and biting. Walking just a little faster leaves people breathless. The sound of machines echoes loudly through the vast mountains, yet instead of feeling lively, it feels isolated.
This place is far from the nearest city. Supplies, transportation, maintenance—any issue in any step is magnified by the plateau. The temperature difference between day and night is extreme. The sun during the day can make people dizzy, and once night falls, the cold presses in. Many people who come here for the first time struggle even to sleep.
When Susan first stood here, she did not feel a surge of heroic ambition. She knew clearly that this was not a place where mistakes could be made. Once a decision was taken, every consequence would be paid for in reality, one by one.
The mine has been developed bit by bit under these conditions. From 2018 to today, more than eight years have passed.
Susan has continued her search for mining opportunities in Tajikistan without stopping. Every month, she flies from Guangzhou to Tajikistan. Few would have imagined that a Chinese woman would mine stone in this place.
Susan, whose Chinese name is Chen Yanli, is the founder of Guangzhou PFM Trading Co., Ltd. (PFM). Her company is located in the International Design Capital building in Baiyun District, Guangzhou. PFM focuses on top-tier overseas interior projects, large-scale public buildings, artistic luxury residences, palaces, and villas.
The Qatar National Security Building, modern villas in Doha, the Tajikistan National Stadium, the residence of the Vice President of Chechnya—these are all representative projects of PFM.
The Qatar National Security Building, modern villas in Doha, the Tajikistan National Stadium, the residence of the Vice President of Chechnya—these are all representative projects of PFM.
Qatar National Security Building
Modern Luxury Villas in Doha
Chechnya Presidential Villa
Tajikstan Dushanbe National Stadium
After nearly twenty years of entrepreneurship, Susan's clients span 117 countries worldwide. In 2015, she was received by the President of Tajikistan. Remarkably, she not only mines stone overseas but also built a national stadium for Tajikistan. What is the story behind her journey?
Story Series 01
A Freshman Who Chased an American Professor
“As long as there is an opportunity, I will seize it.”
“As long as there is an opportunity, I will seize it.”
Susan was born in 1980 in a rural village in Jieshou, Anhui Province. Her family was poor, and from a young age she wanted to rise above her circumstances.
Her family was steeped in a strong preference for sons over daughters. Her father sighed at her birth and even discussed giving her away or exchanging her with relatives for a boy.
Her family was steeped in a strong preference for sons over daughters. Her father sighed at her birth and even discussed giving her away or exchanging her with relatives for a boy.
Although her mother was a farmer and illiterate, she could not bear to give up her first child. A year later, Susan’s younger brother was born. As a child, Susan was breastfed for only two or three months before it stopped, as her mother needed to feed her brother.
As a child, she would eagerly look forward to the days when the village held its market fair. Yet most of the time, what followed was deep disappointment — more often than not, only her younger brother was taken along.
She was always determined to prove herself, and studying was the only way she knew how. Although English education in that era only began in middle school with the alphabet, Susan's English stood out, driven by an intense passion for the language.
She longed to step beyond the village — to change the fate of rural life, and to change her own fate of being overlooked.
At university, she majored in architectural engineering. The school had one American foreign teacher, but he only taught third-year students.
As a freshman, Susan sought out the foreign teacher every day. She practiced spoken English with him whenever possible and often主动 asked whether he needed any help. Once, when the teacher fell ill, she even accompanied him to the hospital.
“As long as there was an opportunity, I had to seize it,” Susan said. He was the only foreign teacher at the school, and she was determined to master English.
At university, she majored in architectural engineering. The school had one American foreign teacher, but he only taught third-year students.
As a freshman, Susan sought out the foreign teacher every day. She practiced spoken English with him whenever possible and often主动 asked whether he needed any help. Once, when the teacher fell ill, she even accompanied him to the hospital.
“As long as there was an opportunity, I had to seize it,” Susan said. He was the only foreign teacher at the school, and she was determined to master English.
Susan developed fluent English, which later laid a solid foundation for her career in international trade.
4. Women in Mining: Thinking Across the Entire Chain
Female quarry owners often bring a more refined and holistic way of thinking, rather than relying on brute force or aggressive execution alone.
Mining operations should be approached from a full-chain perspective:
sales and cash flow are always the foundation, but sales should not be limited to block trading alone.
The real question is:
how can my stone become a product that people truly appreciate?
This is where marketing begins.
Who is using my material?
In what kind of spaces?
Has it been applied in well-known hotels or landmark projects?
What kind of influence has it created?
Have any notable figures used it?
I hope more women quarry owners will join the conversation, so we can explore these questions together.
