Fashionista Tracey Chang: "Empowering People is Much More Than a Brand"

If you ever get the chance to meet her, it is almost impossible to guess where she might be from. Her international intelligence, Beijing beauty, Tianjin twist, American upbringing, and global awareness might make the task tricky, but this well-educated, well-spoken, and well-dressed beauty is anything but – as she would tell you, she is just Tracey.

Miss Tracey Chang also happens to have already accomplished so much over the course of her life, including becoming the first-ever Miss New York winner of Chinese descent, past Davos Moderator, CGTN Journalist, Columbia Business School Graduate, Asian American Excellence Award winner, and most recently, wife, mother, and business owner/entrepreneur. It seems like she is just getting warmed up for all the additional great things she has planned for the future. Despite this impressive list of accomplishments, if you ask this modest social media mogul who she is, she might just simply say, “I’m just a Beijing local girl,” or “Beijing Da Niu” depending on what language she is speaking. Tracey is fluent in Mandarin and English, and proficient in Cantonese and a few other dialects; she is also dedicated to practicing the universal language of love, understanding, tolerance, kindness, and compassion, and she is able to dialog with anyone in the world no matter their race, gender, or belief.

Recently, I had the pleasure to see Tracey at her annual “Pink Party” at the Ritz-Carlton. This was her first big event since being back in China due to the pandemic, and I had the honor and privilege to be invited to this amazing event. It was one of the most lavish parties I have been to, and even though I am a guy, the gala felt like Cinderella’s Ball for me. This annual “Pink Party” is a way to celebrate the continued success of her company, thank her friends, fans, and supporters, and also in many ways felt like a big welcome back Tracey Party to boot. After the festivities, I got to catch up with Tracey and hear about how’s she’s been, what she’s got planned, and here some details about her day-to-day life in Beijing. Below is our interview.

After the amazing success of your “Pink Party,” what’s next?
Well, I just got back from Shanghai for a collaboration with Dyson and hosted a new product launch party. I have a ton of friends, business-school classmates, and former colleagues there, but it’s always hard to catch up with everyone. I did get to meet up with a few people, got to have some other great meetings, and as always continued to plan more great surprises for my brand and fans.

How do you feel about Shanghai when compared to Beijing?
Both places are great and equally amazing in their own way. Shanghai is absolutely international, and when you’re in Shanghai, no matter who you are, you can get the feel of being in any other big international city in the world; whereas in Beijing you still can get a bit of a local feel. Yes, Beijing is still very international, diverse, and modern; but in Beijing you can still often feel the traditional Chinese culture, you can still feel some of the old customs, and you can still enjoy a bit of that local feel that I love so much about Beijing.”

So, tell me a little bit about your day-to-day living and working in Beijing?
I walk and bike often. I am in the office 4-5 times per week, and am located in the most hip place in Beijing, Sanlitun. Often my days consist of going over online content for the week, selecting products for my store, many meetings, and of course a mix of so much more. We are always working on new ideas, new collaborations, perfecting packaging, improving logistics, and the endless amounts of extras that it takes to make my brand one of the best out there. Usually during lunch at noon or after work, I will try to take a Pilates class. After work, typically I’d head back to my apartment, try to eat something healthy, just chill; and browse every genre on Netflix, before most often finally watching Friends or something like that that I’ve seen already thousands of times.

Awesome! Now we know a bit about the day-to-day of a Beijing Beauty Queen, what about what you do for fun?
Well Aaron, I’m a new mom, so I don’t have too, too many social days, they happen but are really rare. My clubbing days are long gone, so now it’s more just dinners, girls afternoon tea, and stuff like that. I do still enjoy a good party, but now a good time for me is a good dinner, good chat, and being in bed by 11. Most all of my free time I spend with my beautiful baby girl, but I am such a social person too; so, if there are special occasions to celebrate, I do love throwing parties and/or attending friend’s birthdays, employees’ birthdays, etc. whenever I am able to.

What are some things you love most about being back in Beijing?
It is great to be close to my team again, and I am in the office 4-5 times a week. It worked for a while but was harder to operate from afar. Also getting vaccinated was so easy and convenient in Beijing. And the food, I love so many different kinds of international foods, but especially love and missed my favorite Northern Chinese dishes.

So, can you tell me a little bit about your beauty brand?
My YouZan WeChat Store, Tracey's Beauty Bar, has adopted the belief that "Beauty is power." What that means is, is that my brand is about more than just beauty, it is about beauty with power. Beauty with power is not enough, so our brand is about empowering beauty, empowering women, and empowering people from around the world with a drive to succeed. It is much more than just a brand.

So cool…Empowering others how?
I’m a new Mom and a semi-new entrepreneur, and I want to share my entrepreneurial adventure and let my story be an inspiration to others to chase their dreams too. I hope to share my past, my journey, and my successes with others to empower others

That is amazing! And back to beauty, where do you think that China ranks in the global beauty industry?
China is undoubtedly number one. Other countries may have a more mature beauty market, but here the young market has only just begun to dip its toe into the potential that is to come.

Thank you so much for such an awesome interview, and one last question, so what’s next for you? Anything new and exciting that we can keep our eyes out for?
Well, I am currently in Qingdao and getting ready to host the opening ceremonies of the Qingdao International Beer Festival, I have been hosting it since 2015, and it's always a great time, with fantastic fresh beer, great music, and many celebrities. So, I am looking forward to another great year, and you can check out my channel and keep up with me and what I’m doing, learn more about my beauty brand, and hopefully get inspired as well.

You can find Tracy Chang's WeChat Store by searching WeChat mini-programs for 翠西Tracy.

READ: The Dali Project: How a Beijing-Based Architect is Preserving Ancient Chinese Traditions

Images courtesy of Tracey Chang