According to the Hurun 2005 China Philanthropy List, Fu Wah donated 130 million yuan (US$16.25 million) for disaster relief in 2005 and 265 million yuan (US$33.13 million) the previous year.

Insiders say besides the public statistics, Chan often personally gives money for rural education, poverty relief, cultural heritage protection as well as disaster relief.

As Chan says, she earns money from society and must pay back. Society "is the right place where the money can play a bigger role than in my savings account," she stresses.

Getting into agriculture

With investments in real estate, the hotel business, trade and food sectors from Beijing to Southeast Asia and Australia, Chan is turning her eyes to agriculture.

Her first agricultural project high-tech agriculture is in eastern Beijing's Tongzhou Taihe. Construction began in September.

The farm is being developed to support environmentally friendly, high added-value agriculture to help local farmers out of poverty.

"We are eyeing the promising future of the rural region. Its progress will help increase farmers' income and build a harmonious society," says Chan.

During the site investigation period, Chan donated 1 million yuan (US$125,000) to the village government for care for aged villagers and education for children.

"Improved living standards and education will support sustainable and healthy development in villages," says Chan, terming it a cycle of social and economic progress.

Heritage protection

A descendant of the Manchu imperial family, founders of the Qing Dynasty that ruling China from 1644 to 1911, Chan spent her childhood years in the Summer Palace in Beijing.

Her family's appreciation of traditional Chinese culture had a great influence on Chan, who is devoted to protecting the country's heritage.

During the development of Jinbao Street near Wangfujing Beijing's fashionable shopping street with a history of more than a century Chan was determined to restore a tract of old siheyuan (traditional Beijing courtyard residences) to preserve some of old Beijing.

With total development investment for Jinbao Street already at 4 billion HK dollars (US$509 million), the sophisticated siheyuan renovation caused costs to surge dramatically, but Chan believes the expense was worthwhile. "Some heritage cannot be measured by money, and what we are doing is to keep something for the Chinese nationality and our descendants," she says.

When Chan was growing up, almost all the family furniture was made of zitan, as red sandalwood is called in Chinese, which explains her passion for this rare wood. Zitan is famed for its density, straight grain and rich colour, while China is well-known for its traditional zitan carving.

Due to the scarcity of both the wood and skilled artisans, zitan carving is becoming a vanishing art.

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