How one Hongkonger rode China’s wave of economic reforms: Paul Yip couldn’t find a room in Shanghai, so he decided to build his own hotel
- Former teacher’s timely move to trading leads to 40 years of doing business, finding opportunities on the mainland
- Plenty of scope for Hongkongers to take advantage of China’s modernisation drive and get a slice of the pie
If Paul Yip Kwok-wah did not have so much trouble finding a hotel room in Shanghai in the 1980s, he might never have become a successful hotelier.
He remembers how unpleasant it was having to change hotels practically every day while doing business in the city that was China’s economic powerhouse.
“My wife and I often had to pick up our suitcases and move from one hotel to another because of the inadequate number of hotel rooms at the time,” he recalled.
“Restaurants in Shanghai hotels closed at 6pm and wouldn’t serve any meals after that. I told my wife it would be great if we could build and operate our own hotel in Shanghai.”
And that was exactly what he did. He entered into a joint venture to build the Yangtze River Hotel in Shanghai and that helped him nurture links with the city’s leaders. The hotel opened its doors in 1992. In 2007, Yip went on to open another hotel in Huangshan, in Anhui Province.