His family has foundries in Taiwan and on the Chinese mainland engaged in metal casting, mechanical and electrical parts processing and manufacturing. His ancestral home is Quanzhou, Fujian. He moved from Taiwan to Changshan in 2014, a year after his father set up a company there.

Now, Li is married to a local resident and their son is 9 months old. He always introduces himself as a "son-in-law of Changshan".

"People in Changshan are hospitable. The food here is delicious. I want to sink my roots here," Li told chinanews.com. "It is a very important turning point for my family that we came to the mainland to expand our business."

Li said the company has been developing fast. Orders have increased greatly in recent years. Current orders are scheduled to be finished and delivered in March.

Yang Jie contributed to this story.