Hu Xueyan was the owner of privat bank- Fukang Bank in sourthern China. He was a businessman with great talent and bold vision. He was very gifted, though he did not receive much education, he had great powers of understanding. Hu's family was in strict circumstances during his childhood, so he was sent to a local bank as an apprentice. The owner of the bank had no offspring, so he passed the bank to Hu, Therefore, Hu got his own bank in 1860.

Hu's bank went bankruptcy because of his failure in doing silk business when financial crisis occured, all his property were sold for paying back the bondholders. The bankruptcy of the Fukang Bank was a major setback to a modern Chinese financial industry.