Real estate powerhouse passes away, 27 billion family business passes to the third generation

By Li Huiling | Yan Ziwei Yang Song Editor by Yan Ziwei

Going east along Beijing’s Chang’an Avenue, near Gaobeidian, there is a large group of Ming and Qing-era buildings—the China Zitan Museum.

On April 7, the museum’s official website turned cold and stark in black and white.

Its owner, Chen Lihua—China’s former female billionaire, quietly closed her eyes at the age of 85.

On Forbes’ real-time billionaire list, Chen Lihua has a net worth of $4 billion, roughly equivalent to RMB 27 billion. In mainland China, she is the leading real-estate businesswoman after Wu Yajun, and over more than 30 years, she has successfully navigated across cycles.

The Fuhua International she founded sits on a number of prime commercial locations in the capital. A reporter from《21CBR》learned from local intermediaries that two office buildings—the Jinbao Building and the Huali Building—have annual rental income exceeding RMB 160 million.

She also owns a batch of top-tier zitan collection items, worth a fortune.

After this businesswoman passed away, how her vast estate and collections would be allocated was unknown to the outside world. As for her core real-estate business, it is expected that her children will take over in all likelihood.

Real-estate rise

Most of Chen Lihua’s core assets are located in prime areas in Beijing. Properties such as the Chang’an Club adjacent to Tian’anmen Square, Jinbao Street just a kilometer from the Forbidden City, and top luxury residences like Chang’an Taihe all came from her.

Data from Hurun China’s 500 list shows that Fuhua International is valued at about RMB 47 billion.

The money she earned from the furniture business—she purchased 12 villas in Hong Kong’s Biliwa with it. **** Whenever the price rose, she would sell, accumulating substantial original capital.

In 1988, she founded Fuhua International Group in Hong Kong. Her first move was to invest RMB 450 million to build the “Chang’an Club.” This high-end business club is right next to the Forbidden City, facing the Beijing Hotel across the street. Its members are mostly social celebrities and entrepreneurs.

The club says it provides its members with three types of dining—Chinese, Western, and Japanese—as well as private customized services. The dining venue is set in a secluded and elegant Chinese siheyuan, surrounded by the fragrant aroma of zitan.

The club rolls out new activities every month. For example, in January 2026, the Chang’an Club teamed up with Thailand’s National Tourism Office to carry out a cultural exchange event.

“With membership formed around small family groups, so that members not only exchange resources and ideas in business, but also become close friends in private.” the club said.

What truly cemented Chen Lihua’s status in the real-estate world is the Jinbao Street project.

This bustling street stretches 730 meters in total length and is adjacent to the Wangfujing business district. In 1998, it was taken over by Fuhua International, with investment of more than HK$4 billion, and after 10 years of renovation, it was completed.

Jinbao Street currently includes four luxury hotels: Jingjing, Liting, Lijun, and Xin Hai Jinjiang; four first-tier office towers such as the Jinbao Building and the Huali Building; and commercial facilities such as the Jockey Club clubhouse and the Jinbao Hui shopping center.

A reporter from《21CBR》learned from local intermediaries that the building area of the Jinbao Building and the Huali Building is approximately 51k square meters and 26k square meters respectively, and the rental rate is about RMB 6 per square meter per day.

The website shows that among the tenants of the Huali Building are companies including Omnicom, Agricultural Bank of China, Ping An Bank, Yong’an Futures, and others.

After the Jinbao Street project, Chen Lihua also took part in building Beijing’s Tongzhou sub-center, developing projects such as the World Chinese Merchant Center and the Beijing International Wealth Center, operating top-end apartment residences, and building projects including the Beijing Zitan Marriott Executive Apartments, Chang’an Taihe, Liyuan Taihe, and more.

The best-known is Chang’an Taihe, which is only 1,800 meters from the Palace Museum, and consists of two luxury residential apartment towers.

Phase one of this project went on the market in 2011. With advantages of its core location, it ranked first in Beijing’s luxury home sales for three consecutive years, and was ultimately fully sold out. The project had 279 units in total, and the cumulative transaction amount over three years reached RMB 8B.

In 2016, Phase two of Chang’an Taihe was launched. The average price was RMB 108.9k per square meter. Because it was a 40-year residential apartment, with no purchase restrictions, but its popularity still did not match that of Phase one.

A luxury home intermediary told the reporter from《21CBR》that there was still a unit of a new home for sale, priced at about RMB 28 million. At its peak period, the same unit had once sold for more than RMB 33 million.

Zitan name recorded

Chen Lihua’s last public appearance was in September 2025, when, in her capacity as the president of the China Zitan Museum and the chairwoman of the board of Fuhua International Group, she received the First Lady of Mongolia, Bolor Tsatsketskeg.

Standing by her side were her husband, Chi Zhongrui, her son Zhao Yong, and her granddaughter Zhao Zixhi.

Chi Zhongrui is the deputy director of the China Zitan Museum and plays the role of Tang Sanzang in the TV series《Journey to the West》. He accompanied this real-estate queen as she went through more than three decades of ups and downs.

Right 2: Chi Zhongrui; Right 3: Chen Lihua

Chen Lihua, who built the family’s business empire, planned two lines of inheritance.

One is about wealth—her top real-estate projects under Fuhua; the other is about “name”—using the best wood to resist the passage of time.

Step into the Zitan Museum, and you can find her imprint everywhere.

The moment you enter the main gate, on the wall directly ahead, there is a zitan-themed couplet hung—written by cultural relic expert Wang Shixiang—“Fine quality and precious materials rise with purple air; the splendid hall and treasured objects reflect red pillars.” The first characters of the upper and lower couplets are, respectively, “Li” and “Hua.”

After standing for a moment, in the core area of the first-floor exhibition hall, several large portrait photographs of Chen Lihua and her paintings are displayed. Chen Lihua loved plum blossoms. Her painting 《Welcoming Spring with Auspicious Snow》is known as “the flagship piece for the museum.”

The museum she spent more than RMB 9B to build leaves her a reputation in both life and after life.

For more than twenty years, Chen Lihua sent her zitan works to Washington, London, and Dresden, labeling herself as a “guardian of traditional culture.”

This allowed her, at the age of 84, to go to the UN Headquarters’ banquet hall to receive the “Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Women.” Among the other winners from the same group was Tu Youyou, the Nobel Prize–winning medical scientist.

This was the peak moment of her life. A shrewd real-estate operator, she transformed into an “artist.”

Children take over

After Chen Lihua passed away, the real-estate enterprise was taken over by her descendants.

Zhao Yong, serves as chairman of Fuhua International, holding the key voice on major matters. Her eldest daughter Zhao Li, second daughter Zhao Min, and adoptive daughter Wang Lian, all serve as directors.

The third generation of the family—Zhao Yong’s three daughters and one son—also entered the group to work. Zhao Yong’s eldest daughter Zhao Zihong serves as executive president and is often the representative of Fuhua at public events. Second daughter Zhao Zixhi and another person suspected to be her child, Zhao Zijun, serve as directors.

At age 68, Zhao Yong is still holding his ground at the front line, working hard to expand the family business.

In July 2025, Fuhua invested RMB 156 million to acquire 50% of the equity of Beijing Fuhua Yuntong Company held by Shimao, raising its shareholding ratio to 100%. The target mainly handles the development of the World Chinese Merchant Center in Beijing’s Tongzhou.

Beijing Fuhua Yuntong was announced by the Tongzhou District Taxation Bureau in October 2025 for owing more than one million in back taxes.

Now that the founding generation is gone, Zhao Yong and his team need to face the upcoming storms on their own.

As the real-estate industry adjusts, even with location advantages, Fuhua’s projects cannot escape the impact of the cycle.

“Affected by the overall environment of the industry, there are several floors vacant at Jinbao and Huali buildings, and rents have also dropped by about 30% compared with the peak.” A Zhongyuan real-estate intermediary told the reporter that because tenants are concentrated in the financial sector, their stability is higher than that of nearby office buildings, so the decline is relatively smaller.

Jinbao Street is known as an area where famous cars gather. Maserati, Aston Martin, and Ferrari专营店 are set along the street. An old Beijinger mentioned that with imported luxury car sales shrinking, many famous car shops on the street stopped operating.

At the 2026 work meeting, when Zhao Yong mentioned the real-estate sector, he stated that industry cycles bring challenges. Fuhua has always adhered to the philosophy of “refining through meticulous cultivation,” polishing the quality of existing projects.

“I want to build a company that lasts 100 years. What Fuhua pursues isn’t just being big, but being strong—or, when facing risks, still able to survive.” Zhao Yong emphasized.

On the evening of the 7th, Jinbao Street was bustling with cars and people. That businesswoman who built this street with steel and concrete had already quietly passed away.

Image sources: Beijing Zitan Museum, Fuhua International Group, except where otherwise indicated