Swedish man owns vehicle testing centre in China’s Inner Mongolia; likely the only foreigner there

SCMP | March 10, 2026, 6 a.m. | Original

A Swedish man has lived in the cold city of Yakeshi, Inner Mongolia, for two decades, running a leading ice surface vehicle testing facility. Photo: SCMP composite/Shutterstock/Douyin

Over two decades in a little-known, freezing city in northern China, a Swedish man has built a career and witnessed the booming development of the country’s carmaking industry.

Gustav Holmgren, 44, whose Chinese name is Ge Siwen, is the legal representative and site manager of ATM (Hulun Buir) Proving Ground Service, which provides cold-weather vehicle testing for carmakers.

He is, perhaps, the only foreigner in the city.

His company is located in Yakeshi, a small city with a population of 300,000 and administered by the prefecture-level city of Hulun Buir in Inner Mongolia.

Gustav Holmgren has settled in nicely to the sub-zero temperatures in Inner Mongolia. Photo: Douyin
Gustav Holmgren has settled in nicely to the sub-zero temperatures in Inner Mongolia. Photo: Douyin

Holmgren first came to China in 2006, after graduating from university.

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