Mrs Yan says she moved to Tauranga from China in 2002, drawn by the Bay's small-town feel and lack of skyscrapers.
"If I want to go to a big city, I should stay in China," she says.
More people from China are choosing the Bay of Plenty as a place to live, play and do business. Census data shows the Chinese population in the Western Bay of Plenty and Tauranga has grown from half a per cent during the 2001 census, to nearly 1 per cent during the 2013 census. Numbers of Chinese have doubled.
Members of the association met earlier this week at 88 Devonport Chinese restaurant to share yum cha (a mixture of small dishes), swap stories and talk about promoting an upcoming martial arts performance.
Mrs Yan says the group started earlier this year with about 20 members and has since grown to more than 50.
Mrs Yan says the organisation's goal is to support the growing local Chinese business community and foster closer economic relations with China. It's something she's already doing as a personal banker at ANZ. Mrs Yan says she wants to smooth the integration process.
"With new migration and the language problem, it's hard for them to find everything properly. We had quite a few stories of people who come and are introduced and are starting to settle very quickly."
Group vice-president Charlie Song says he moved to the Bay four years ago after living in Wellington for nine years. "It was mainly due to the weather. The weather here is fantastic. We like to live close to the harbour and sea; there's lots of water activities you can do, especially surfing and walking the beaches."
Mr Song works as an accountant with Manning Warner Browne in Tauranga. He says his employer helps provide services to the Chinese community. In addition, he says Mrs Yan's bank provides free meeting facilities for seminars. Other businesses offer discounted rates for group members. "It's a great opportunity to help them [migrants] settle here and attract investment from other regions or overseas. The association becomes a central hub for those people coming from out of town who have access to professional services."
Board member Victoria Han has lived in the Bay eight years and says she works with a mix of clients in her real estate job with Ray White.
"When the Chinese come, they grab me. Most clients speak English, but prefer to deal with people in their own language, especially when dealing with property," she says.
Mrs Yan says the group plans to launch a website and is looking to secure funding to set up an English-language school.
"There are a lot of English schools, but it's not working for their level. Their English hasn't improved after a few months or even years. We've all been through this and we know the best way to help them,"
Mrs Yan says language is the main challenge for Chinese migrants.
"It's hard for them to get around, and policies are very different to Chinese local law." The Chinese business group promotes member lawyers, accountants, real estate agents and bankers. Other Chinese-owned local businesses include website builders, Asian supermarkets, travel agents, a motel, an optometrist, auto mechanic, photographer, exporters and an acupuncturist. "It's a lot more than just takeaways and restaurants," says Mrs Yan.
Group members say work-life balance is a major reason they moved to New Zealand. Mr Song says his friends in China work more than 50 hours each week with no holidays or weekends off.
"If they're lucky, they take a day-and-a-half off a month. It's an invaluable lifestyle in New Zealand and the quality of the work-life balance I don't think you can achieve overseas."
Mr Song says Chinese doing business in the Bay must be mindful of cultural differences such as meeting styles. He says businesspeople in China have historically connected through multiple meetings, "and eating and drinking a lot".
"If you do business in Tauranga or New Zealand, most occasions you meet in the boardroom or for coffee. In China, we go for yum cha or lunch or dinner or to a pub to drink a bottle of beer."
Mr Song says new Chinese migrants often lack confidence at first in their language skills, but once they settle in, they find, "Kiwi people are fantastic and easy to deal with. There's a language barrier and cultural differences, but once we understand each other, we're fine. We have partnerships for a long time and successful businesses."
Tauranga Chamber of Commerce acting chief executive Toni Palmer says groups such as the association are important in helping immigrants adapt to the business environment. She says: "The chamber fully supports building business capability and accepts there are language and cultural barriers to address first.
"We look forward to working co-operatively in the future with these groups as the chamber has many resources and network contacts that can be tapped into to assist these business groups to grow and integrate into the wider Tauranga business community."
