In the year when the Soviet Union dissolved, I was born in Karamay (قاراماي شەھىرى, 克拉玛依) - a small Chinese border city. My hometown’s name comes from the Uyghur language which means ‘black oil’. Although I did not choose to study economics but was assigned to it, being thrown into this discipline deeply shaped my understanding of the world.

After completing my BEc in public economics with enthusiasm, I came to New Zealand to continue the journey. I completed a Master's degree in economics at Waikato with a special interest in evaluating the cost of terrorism, the methods can also be used to estimate the effectiveness of policy interventions.

Before joining the New Zealand Treasury, I have worked as a cleaner, gardener, survey interviewer, data analyst and tutor, which not only enriched what I have learnt by filling the gap between economic theories and reality, but also taught me that to comprehend a nectar requires sorest need.