The death of Chen Lihua at the age of 85 marks the end of a remarkable chapter in China’s transition from a closed revolutionary state to a global economic powerhouse. Known as the 'Red Sandalwood Queen' and once crowned the world’s wealthiest self-made woman, Chen’s passing on April 5 in Beijing closes the book on a life that bridged the fading echoes of the Qing Dynasty with the hyper-charged capitalism of the modern era.
Born in 1941 within the Summer Palace to the Manchu nobility of the Yehe Nara clan, Chen’s early years were defined by the fall of the imperial order and the subsequent hardships of the early People’s Republic. Despite dropping out of high school to work as a seamstress and furniture repairer, she retained an intrinsic understanding of her heritage’s value. This cultural literacy became her springboard in the 1980s when she leveraged connections to acquire Ming and Qing-era furniture, which she later sold in Hong Kong to amass her initial fortune.
Chen’s return to Beijing in the late 1980s as a sophisticated Hong Kong developer coincided with a critical pivot in China’s urban history. Her signature achievement, the Chang’an Club, became more than just a luxury venue; it was the ultimate 'Guanxi' hub. Located steps from Tiananmen Square, it served as a private sanctuary where international titans like Li Ka-shing and local political elites forged the deals that would build modern China.
Her influence on the capital's physical landscape is most visible in the development of Jinbao Street. In the late 1990s, Chen’s Fu Wah International Group undertook a massive urban renewal project that transformed nearly a million square meters of central Beijing. The project was famous for its speed—displacing 2,100 households in just 28 days—illustrating both her formidable political backing and the era's ruthless approach to modernization.
Beyond her 47-billion-yuan (US$6.5 billion) empire, Chen’s public persona was defined by her unconventional marriage to Chi Zhongrui, an actor famous for playing the monk Tang Sanzang in the classic 'Journey to the West.' While the tabloid press obsessed over their union, Chen focused her later years on the China Red Sandalwood Museum, a project she viewed as her true legacy, preserving a craft she felt was her birthright.
As the leadership of Fu Wah Group passes to her son, Zhao Yong, the transition appears more stable than the chaotic succession battles that have plagued other Chinese dynasties. Chen Lihua leaves behind a Beijing that she helped sculpt—a city of high-end commercial corridors and exclusive clubs that replaced the imperial courtyards of her childhood, cementing her status as a foundational architect of China’s billionaire class.