85-year-old founder Chen Lihua passes away; 47 billion "Fuhua Empire" completes succession

Ask AI · Zhao Yong Takes Over Fuhua: How Will He Respond to New Industry Challenges?

Fuhua International Group’s website has turned black and white.

On April 7, the website posted an obituary, stating that Ms. Chen Lihua, Honorary Chairman of Fuhua International Group and Director of the Chinese Rosewood Museum, passed away in Beijing on April 5, 2026, at the age of 85, after unsuccessful medical treatment.

“Director Chen Lihua’s life was brilliant and remarkable. She served as a member of the 8th to 12th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Vice Chairman of the Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and Overseas Chinese Committee of the 11th and 12th National CPPCC, and received numerous honors including the United Nations ‘Outstanding Asian Woman Lifetime Achievement Award.’”

“Queen of Real Estate” and “Queen of Rosewood,” it’s hard to describe Chen Lihua with just one word.

In the 1980s, she purchased 12 villas in the famous Billy Wah community in Hong Kong in one go, buying low and selling high, successfully earning her first “pot of gold”; in 1999, she invested 200 million yuan to build the Chinese Rosewood Museum, which costs about 20 million yuan annually for maintenance but “only exhibits, does not sell”; in 2000, the Jinbao Street demolition project involved a total investment of over 4 billion yuan…

With a net worth of 47 billion yuan, how will Chen Lihua’s Fuhua “business empire” continue to write its business legend?

Screenshot of the homepage of Fuhua International Group’s official website.

Business Map Spanning Multiple Industries

Fuhua International Group was established in Hong Kong in 1988, with core industries including real estate, asset operation management, culture and arts, and finance. Its development centers on high-end real estate, with regional coverage including Beijing, Tianjin, Hainan, Guangdong, Anhui, and others.

Fuhua has built and is developing more than 1.5 million square meters of operational real estate projects in Beijing. Representative projects include Liyuan Apartments, Chang’an Taihe, and Chang’an Canal, and it independently develops and operates Jinbao Street, which includes Jinbao Tower, Huali Building, Lijing Hotel, Liting Hotel, Lijun Hotel, Jinbao Shopping Center, and Beijing Hong Kong Jockey Club.

In 2014, Fuhua International Group completed the acquisition of the top-tier Melbourne Park Hyatt Hotel in Australia. The same year, after a global bidding process, it signed an investment cooperation agreement with the Auckland Waterfront Development Zone government in New Zealand, partnering with Hyatt Group to jointly build the Auckland Park Hyatt Hotel, which is the largest foreign investment project in local public infrastructure to date.

In the financial health sector, Fuhua International Group’s first listed company—Beijing Fuli Hua De Biopharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Fuli Hua De”)—was listed on the New Third Board in May 2017.

Performance of Fuli Hua De in 2024. Screenshot of annual report

The 2024 annual report shows that Fuli Hua De’s gross profit margin reached 77.29%, but revenue was only 179.8k yuan, a year-on-year decrease of over 80%, with a net loss of 2.2144 million yuan, narrowing by 18.93% year-on-year. Due to increased consulting fees, sales expenses even exceeded revenue, reaching 188.1k yuan, a year-on-year increase of 201.61%.

Rosewood is Chen Lihua’s second industry. In 1999, she invested 200 million yuan to build a replica ancient Chinese Rosewood Museum, covering 25,000 square meters, with over 400 cubic meters of wood used just for the main entrance, all in pure wood structure.

“The Chinese Rosewood Museum’s collection includes nearly 1,000 exhibits, making it the largest private museum in China and even the world to focus on collecting, researching, displaying, and appreciating rosewood art and Chinese classical furniture,” said Director Chen Lihua.

The 2026 Hurun Global Self-Made Women Entrepreneurs List shows Chen Lihua’s net worth at 47 billion yuan, ranking 12th.

Qichacha shows that before her death, Chen Lihua served as the legal representative of the Chinese Rosewood Museum and the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao Deep Cooperation Zone Fuhua Rosewood Museum, and was a director of Beijing Lizhihua Cosmetics Co., Ltd.

“Heir” Gained Experience in the Group for Many Years, Upholding the “Refined and Focused” Philosophy

The transition of Fuhua International Group has been completed, with Chen Lihua’s son Zhao Yong serving as the Group’s President.

Fuli Hua De’s 2024 annual report shows that the chairman and general manager are Zhao Li, with the actual controller being Zhao Yong; they are siblings.

According to the resume, Zhao Yong was born in January 1959, holds a graduate degree, and is a Hong Kong citizen. From March 1982 to February 1988, he worked in the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee Organization Department; since 1988, he has held multiple positions within Fuhua’s business map, including director of Fuhua (China) Co., Ltd., executive director and manager of Fuhua Real Estate Co., Ltd.

Zhao Li also gained extensive experience within Fuhua’s business map. Her resume shows she was born in October 1956, is a Hong Kong citizen, and has a graduate degree. From March 1980 to September 1984, she served as manager of Shenzhen Development Co., Ltd.; from October 1984 to March 2000, she was chairman of Hong Kong Fuhua Enterprise Co., Ltd. She has also held positions at Beijing Huafu Jinhao Real Estate Development Co., Ltd., and Beijing Red Wood Trading Center Co., Ltd., among others.

On January 11, 2025, at Fuhua International Group’s 2025 Business Operations Conference, Zhao Yong attended as Chairman, and Zhao Li as Director.

Zhao Yong delivered a speech at the meeting, first emphasizing inheritance and promotion, stating that Fuhua’s development will adhere to accumulation and innovation, continuing to strengthen; secondly, he praised the motivated veteran employees represented by the Board Office, encouraging everyone to face difficulties head-on, and calling on all projects and departments to deeply explore resources, fully utilize internal platform advantages, and discover new opportunities in market competition; at the same time, he urged all employees to actively promote nationwide marketing, break through traditional thinking, and fully achieve the 2025 work goals.

In November 2025, Zhao Yong attended the 2025 China Overseas Chinese Business Investment (Hainan) Conference as Chairman, stating that under the dual guidance of the “Belt and Road” initiative and Hainan Free Trade Port construction, Fuhua is committed to investing in Hainan, overcoming numerous difficulties, and has developed the Tianli Bay project covering tourism, culture, water sports, and other industries.

At the 2026 Fuhua International Group Business Operations Conference, Zhao Yong pointed out that despite industry cycle challenges, the group always adheres to the “refined and focused” philosophy, continuously polishing the quality of existing projects; he also emphasized that the group’s business is expanding into culture, big health, financial control, and Jinbao lifestyle as breakthroughs, with innovative ideas to explore new development boundaries, and a firm determination to overcome difficulties and seek new opportunities amid changes.

Zhao Yong proposed the core idea of “family inheritance enterprise,” emphasizing that only by strengthening the foundation of inheritance can the enterprise achieve long-term and sustainable development.

Beijing News Shell Finance Reporter Xu Yuting, Editor Chen Li, Proofreader Mu Xiangtong