Knocking on wood

Chan then switched her attention to China's economic reforms and toward the end of the 1980s returned to Beijing looking for opportunities.

"As a businesswoman, I have benefited from the country's economic reforms," she says. "A big thank-you to Deng Xiaoping, who revived the country."

While investing in real estate, hotel, trade and food sectors, Chan also opened workshops in outer Beijing, creating red sandalwood products.

In 1989, she donated a red sandalwood screen carved with dragon motifs to the Beijing Asian Games Organizing Committee. The delicate piece was highly praised by experts from the Palace Museum.

Since she had not made the screen for commercial reasons, the museum directors allowed her to access their warehouse to copy their designs and to measure the size of the ancient royal furniture, in order to promote the culture of the hardwood.

"When the directors told me our furniture was even more delicate than some items in the Forbidden City, I was delirious with delight, " she recalls, her face brimming with pride.

"I have no idea how many times I have recalled their comments as well as their facial expressions when they said it. I really appreciate their approval - it inspired me to keep going."

Chan's sandalwood pieces do not only have links to the country's best museum, but also the Beijing Olympics.

When, in July 2001, the city won the right to host the 2008 Olympics, the China Red Sandalwood Museum curator asked Chan to donate a wood sculpture to the Organizing Committee.

National Gate, the piece she donated, is a miniature of a typical imperial palace gate in the Forbidden City.

"It reflects our cheerful mood at that time," Chan explains. "It symbolizes the new, open China welcoming people from all over the world."

During the Games, a wide variety of the red sandalwood furniture from CRSM was used to decorate hotel rooms for VIPs, from table and chairs to desks and cabinets.

Philip Craven, the president of the International Paralympic Committee, was bewitched by the furniture and said he felt like he'd entered heaven when he walked into the room.

In the past few years, CRSM has held exhibitions in many foreign countries and Chan has donated permanent collections to various places, including the British Museum, Tokyo National Museum and Smithsonian Institute of USA.

"Red sandalwood is not just a kind of wood," she says. "It is an art form that is one of the best examples of Chinese culture and traditions. I therefore believe it will thrive forever."