Over the past four decades, Shenzhen, a landmark city in China's reform and opening-up drive, has famously been transformed from a small fishing village into a modern metropolis.

From working at an OEM (original equipment manufacturers) business to becoming a company owner, the life of Yang Zhihua, a young entrepreneur in sanitary ware industry in the southern Chinese city, has bloomed alongside the high-speed train of development.

"In the very beginning, we mainly helped with the OEM business, but many products were indeed developed by ourselves. I came to realize that I must build my own brand," Yang told CGTN.

"About 10 years ago, when starting my own business, I worked very hard to overcome various difficulties and paid more attention to innovation and high standards for the product quality," he noted.

After years of hard work, Yang succeeded, but he hasn't stopped pursuing higher goals and adapting to new trends. Through continuous exploration, he successfully switched from traditional to digital marketing in order to ensure his business more effectively appeals to Gen Z consumers.

Behind Yang's success are the governments at all levels in Shenzhen, which have optimized their services to ensure the stable and rapid advancement of the country's broader reform and opening-up goals.

As a result, Shenzhen's GDP reached nearly 3.24 trillion yuan ($472 billion) in 2022, up from only 196 million yuan in 1979, during which time the number of enterprises rose from 501 to more than 2 million, according to the city's statistics bureau.

Yang is just one of many successful entrepreneurs in Shenzhen whose stories show how the ancient aphorism "the heavens are in motion ceaselessly, the enlightened exert themselves constantly" remains relevant today.

The original text is from "Zhou Yi," or "The Book of Changes," written over 2,000 years ago about the philosophy of life, which has inspired generations of Chinese people to strive for perfection and to have a broad, open mind. The saying has been quoted by Chinese President Xi Jinping on various occasions to encourage people on to embody the spirit of self-improvement. 

"The great achievements of the new era have come from the collective dedication and hard work of our Party and our people," Xi said as he delivered the report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which once again reflected the spiritual power of this old saying.

In 2018, while addressing a gathering to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the start of the country's reform and opening-up policies, Xi said the spirit of self-improvement and broad-mindedness demonstrated in the aphorism is what makes Chinese civilization unique and has allowed it to stretch uninterrupted for over 5,000 years.