Gaoyuan Yao

Yao Gaoyuan (; born August 1968) is a Chinese politician who has served as a vice governor of Zhejiang since May 2026. He previously served as mayor of Hangzhou, mayor of Wenzhou, and director of the Department of Economy and Information Technology of Zhejiang Province.

Biography

Yao was born in August 1968 in Cixi, Zhejiang. He studied political education at Zhejiang Normal University between September 1986 and August 1990 before beginning his career as a teacher at the Pinghu Teachers' Training School. He joined the Chinese Communist Party in December 1993. He later completed graduate studies at the Party School of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.

After entering public service, Yao held a series of positions in Pinghu and Jiaxing, serving in the general offices of the municipal governments and party committees. Between 2002 and 2008, he served as deputy secretary of the Communist Party Committee of Jiashan County and secretary of the county's Commission for Discipline Inspection.

In 2008, Yao briefly served as Party secretary and director of the Jiaxing Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Bureau before returning to Jiashan in 2009 as acting county magistrate and later county magistrate. During this period, he also attended an executive MBA program at Tsinghua University. In November 2011, he became Party secretary of Jiashan County.

In May 2015, Yao was transferred to Wenzhou, where he served as a member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party Committee, head of the Organization Department, and president of the Party School of the Wenzhou Municipal Committee. In March 2017, he was promoted to deputy secretary of the Communist Party Committee of Wenzhou and secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission. He became acting mayor in February 2018 and was elected mayor the following month, serving until December 2021.

In December 2021, Yao was appointed Party secretary of the Department of Economy and Information Technology of Zhejiang Province and concurrently served as director of the Zhejiang Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Bureau. In January 2022, he became director of the department. In November 2022, Yao was appointed deputy secretary of the Communist Party Committee of Hangzhou, acting mayor, and deputy Party secretary of the Hangzhou Municipal People's Government. He was elected mayor of Hangzhou in December 2022 and served until April 2026.

In April 2026, Yao became a member of the Party Group of the Zhejiang Provincial People's Government. In May 2026, he was appointed vice governor of Zhejiang. Yao is a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress. He is also a member of the 14th and 15th Committees of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.