In 1946, because of poverty, Chen Minggang was born into a peasant family in the Dawn Village of the Town of County Gate in Jinsha County. He dropped out of school after Grade 6 of elementary school. At the age of 13, like most local farmers, he began to support his family by farming and driving a horse cart. Chen Minggang raised pigs, sold vegetables and firewood. Then he sold sundries, pulled a truck, later ran an automobile transport business and opened an automobile repair factory, accumulating his wealth today step by step.