"Most of my life I spent in the Mainland and Hong Kong. My family is in Hong Kong and my children grow up here. I feel like I am Chinese and I regard Hong Kong as my home. I have a Western face, and here is a Chinese heart." The one who covered my chest was exactly Sheng Zhiwen , known as the "father of Lan Kwai Fong".
Sheng Zhiwen's story is very legendary. He lost his father at a young age and his family was not well off. He earned 1 million Canadian dollars at the age of 18 and came to China to work hard, eventually becoming a billionaire. He spent decades to build Lan Kwai Fong into a landmark building in Hong Kong and a world-class entertainment destination. The Hong Kong movie "Love Night Pu" centers on Lan Kwai Fong and tells the story between men and women.
The half century of living in China made Sheng Zhiwen fall in love with this place and eventually gave up his Canadian citizenship and became a Chinese. It is worth mentioning that Sheng Zhiwen also supported him when Li Ka-shing was in controversy in , , "I don't believe that Li Ka-shing will withdraw funds from Hong Kong. He is just looking for good investment opportunities to make money."
Louis Koo shook hands with Sheng Zhiwen, Visual China
Lost his father at a young age and went to Hong Kong many times. At the age of 18, he made 1 million Canadian dollars to build a textile empire and sold 2.2 billion
In fact, Sheng Zhiwen was not born with a golden key in his mouth.
In 1950, Sheng Zhiwen was born in Germany and is a Jewish person, but he moved to New York, USA with his parents at a very young age. In Sheng Zhiwen's memory, his mother worked in the hospital, his father was a tailor, and he also traded watches. Unfortunately, Sheng Zhiwen's father died soon. So, his mother took him away from his hometown again and went to Canada to live and live a difficult life.
Losing his father in childhood is not just a mental blow to Sheng Zhiwen. Due to the lack of pillars, in order to reduce the burden on the family, Sheng Zhiwen had to start a half-working and half-study life. He sent newspapers in the morning and worked in a restaurant on weekends. After graduating from high school, Sheng Zhiwen began to hang out in society. Fortunately, he successfully dug up the gold mine of China's textile manufacturing industry, earning 1 million Canadian dollars in two years, becoming an 18-year-old millionaire.
19 years old, Sheng Zhiwen made a major decision in life and brought 1 million Canadian dollars to Hong Kong, China to work hard.
The 1960s and 1970s was the golden period of Hong Kong's textile and garment industry. In addition to the attraction of the low tax system, Sheng Zhiwen, who smelled the opportunity, decided to seize this rare opportunity. "When I walked out of the airport, I smelled the harbor. The women were wearing long gowns, the men working were shirtless, and everyone was working hard." This was the scene when Sheng Zhiwen first set foot in Hong Kong.
However, Sheng Zhiwen later discovered that the prospects in mainland China were even broader, so he went to the mainland again to collect orders, found a garment factory to place orders in mid-to-high-end fashion, and then exported them to North America and Europe. What Sheng Zhiwen did not expect was that he was once again fascinated by the scenery along the way, "There are construction everywhere, everyone is full of motivation, and I fell in love with China at that time."
As the spring breeze of reform blows, Sheng Zhiwen also opened an office in Changsha, Hunan, and often shuttles between the mainland and Hong Kong. At that time, the conditions in the mainland were indeed very poor. "We had to make an appointment two days in advance to call from Changsha to Hong Kong. We had to light candles when playing table tennis in the hotel in the evening, and the power was out of stock at 5 pm." Sheng Zhiwen once said bluntly.
But even so, Sheng Zhiwen did not give up. He firmly believed in his choice. In the end, Sheng Zhiwen's textile trading company COLBY became a well-known brand in the industry and was sold for a high price of HK$2.2 billion in 2000. You should know that in the Hurun China Rich List that year, Song Chaodi, the 10th place in the Colihua Software Group, had a net worth of only 2.2 billion yuan.
"The Father of Lan Kwai Fong" was born
after the success of the new model of the new purchase rights, and he was once trampled on 21 deaths because of his passion. Sheng Zhiwen is not a workaholic that he would not enjoy at all, and this has also become an opportunity for him to build Lan Kwai Fong.
Also in the 1980s, Sheng Zhiwen, who has a wealth of wealth, discovered that although there are many restaurants and bars in Lan Kwai Fong, Central, Hong Kong, there is no distinction. So he adopted the new model of "restaurant + bar" to create a California restaurant, attracting many Chinese and foreign guests to come and make a fortune again.
In fact, Lan Kwai Fong is an L-shaped street in Central, Hong Kong, which has existed as early as the 18th century. However, because foreigners gathered at that time, it was a place for everyone to have fun, and it was also called "Roasted Ghost House" by many locals. Later, a large number of matchmakers who match marriages appeared here, so they were also called "Matchmaker Lane".
has the blessing of a historical foundation, and coupled with the keen vision of Sheng Zhiwen, Lan Kwai Fong has developed rapidly. Since then, he seized the business opportunity, gradually acquired the ownership of Lan Kwai Fong, and established Lan Kwai Fong Group, which has built this place into a famous tourist attraction in Hong Kong and a world-class entertainment destination, and won the title of "Father of Lan Kwai Fong".
However, being too hot is not all a good thing. At the end of December 1992, tens of thousands of citizens and tourists came to Lan Kwai Fong to celebrate the New Year as usual, but an accident happened near the countdown of New Year's Day. Due to the excessive number of people, many streets in Lan Kwai Fong began to lose control, and people were pushed and trampled, which eventually led to the death of 21 people, becoming an unforgettable pain for the Hong Kong people.
Of course, Sheng Zhiwen also brought the brand "Lan Kwai Fong" to the mainland.
In 2010, Lan Kwai Fong, Chengdu, which is 18 times larger than Lan Kwai Fong in Hong Kong, was established. Sheng Zhiwen said, "This is the second store in the world. I really hope that Lan Kwai Fong can integrate into Chengdu's local culture, so you can see teahouses, Sichuan cuisine and hot pot here. Chengdu people are very good at enjoying life, and the consumption ability of earning 12 yuan and spending 10 yuan is very appreciated by me."
Lan Kwai Fong (Chengdu) official website shows that Lan Kwai Fong is a vibrant and diversified company with footprints covering major cities in Hong Kong, mainland China and other regions of Asia. The group's core business is in commercial real estate mergers and acquisitions, design, development, operation and management, and also engages in high-end restaurants and bars, financial investment and movie distribution.
Lan Kwai Fong, Chengdu, Visual China
Billionaires love to enjoy
Once supported Li Ka-shing, who was in the storm, turned Canadians into Chinese
Lan Kwai Fong's great success also made Sheng Zhiwen once invited to serve as the chairman of Hong Kong Ocean Park. After
took over Ocean Park, Sheng Zhiwen once again showed his unique businessman talent, defeated Disneyland many times and won the title of "Mickey Mouse Killer". In order to increase popularity and the number of tourists, Sheng Zhiwen did not hesitate to "pretend to be ugly" himself. When the Jellyfish Pavilion opened, he dressed up as a jellyfish; when the Ghost Festival event was held, he dressed up as a ghost; when Hong Kong's 10th anniversary of its return, he even turned into a panther-like clown, which caused a sensation in Hong Kong.
Relying on the income brought by Lan Kwai Fong Group and others, on his 60th birthday, his net worth exceeded US$1 billion, which can reach 10 billion yuan based on the exchange rate at that time. Sheng Zhiwen, who has assets worth tens of billions, enjoys life very much. He has top vacation villas in Phuket, two luxury yachts, and is also a member of the Hong Kong Jockey Club. He has famous horses such as lucky brave generals and California prodigy.
Half a century in China made Sheng Zhiwen fall in love with Hong Kong deeply. In 2008, Sheng Zhiwen decided to give up his Canadian nationality and join China. "I spent most of my life in the Mainland and Hong Kong. My children grew up here. I feel like I am Chinese and I regard Hong Kong as my home. I have a Western face, and here is a Chinese heart," Sheng Zhiwen said, covering her chest.
Interestingly, Sheng Zhiwen is still very "strange". Although he is engaged in the entertainment industry, he does not drink any wine. He has been making clothing products for decades, but he never wears socks except in a few occasions. It is such a "weird" who does his own way and once supported Li Ka-shing when he was caught in the controversy of "Don't let Li Ka-shing run away".
In 2014, when a businessman represented by Li Ka-shing turned his investment from Hong Kong to overseas, Sheng Zhiwen said in an interview, "I don't believe that Li Ka-shing will withdraw funds from Hong Kong. He owns a world-class listed company. When he sees opportunities overseas, why not invest? He is just looking for good investment opportunities to make money."
For thirty years, the world has changed. The adjacent small fishing villages at that time have now become quite trendy beyond Hong Kong.
All of this, Sheng Zhiwen saw it, and he couldn't help but sigh, "Many people in Hong Kong have never been to the mainland and cannot see the miraculous changes in the mainland.Now the mainland is making progress in many aspects than Hong Kong and even many places in the world, and people's lives have greatly improved. Hong Kong's future lies in the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. ”
(Author丨Shijie Feng Chenchen, Editor | Lang Ming)
