Poor Hebei farmer hits it big selling bricks in Uzbekistan

When Liu Zhaojun, a farmer-turned-businessman, was told about a brick maker in Uzbekistan looking for investors almost four years ago, he knew "absolutely nothing" about the country.

"I didn't know where it was or how far it was from China," Liu said. "I could not even pronounce its name properly."

In 2013, Liu was selling building materials in Pingxiang county, about 10 kilometers from his hometown in Hebei province. He did not know that the Belt and Road Initiative - the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road - would involve farmers like him, but he decided to try his luck anyway.