High on the Nansha trail

Eric Fok Kai-shan — grandson of the late Hong Kong philanthropist and entrepreneur Henry Fok Ying-tung — has picked up the baton, helping to realize his grandfather's vision and "Nansha Dream". Wang Yuke reports from Hong Kong.

Eric Fok Kai-shan — a grandson of the late Hong Kong business magnate Henry Fok Ying-tung has a modest and low-profile stance that underpins his prominent family's humble origins. Eric Fok, with his feet firmly on the ground, aspires to realize his grandfather's unfulfilled dream.

On Henry Fok's first visit to Panyu (now part of the Guangdong provincial capital Guangzhou) to trace his family's roots, he had a vision for Nansha, then a desolate fishing hamlet adjacent to a quarry, to transform the undeveloped area into a thriving deep water port and a coastal city with a gracious lifestyle that would be ecological and sustainable, pulsating with a leisurely, well-heeled and cultured quality of life, in addition to scientific research activities.

After all, Rome wasn't built in a day. Eric Fok, currently vice-president of Fok Ying Tung Group, has picked up the baton, turning his grandfather's vision into reality.

Today, more than 40 years on, Nansha is unrecognizable from the sight that first stoked Henry Fok's imagination. It's gone from nothing to something, as Eric Fok puts it. An elegantly-styled Nansha Grand Hotel is just a five-minute stroll from Nansha Ferry Terminal, while Nansha Bay Stone Village — a low-density residential complex — offers a secluded oasis and getaway from the hustle and bustle of city life. There is also Nansha Marina — the first yachting facility on the Chinese mainland to attain the world-notch "Five Gold Anchor" rating by the Yacht Harbor Association — doling out premier yachting and sailing services, training and hospitality. All these facilities come with a dazzling array of cultural and dining spots, an effervescent boulevard, and transportation choices to create a lifestyle that Henry Fok had vouched for.