On April 7, Huahua International Group officially issued a death notice. It said that Rongyu Honorary Chairman and Director of the China Rosewood Museum, Ms. Li Hua Chen, passed away at 8:50 p.m. on the evening of April 5 in Beijing after an illness that could not be cured. She was 85 years old.

Li Hua Chen is the founder of Huahua Group, and she has been doing business since the 1980s, achieving remarkable success in the real estate industry. She holds many honors—she is both Director of the Rosewood Museum and Honorary Chairman of Huahua Group. People say that Li Hua Chen is the eighth-generation descendant of the Yehe Nara clan of the Manchu people. She was born in Beijing, from a Zhenghuang Banner family background.

As an outstanding female entrepreneur, Li Hua Chen has held multiple roles at once, including being a member of the 8th to 12th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, vice chairperson of the National Committee of CPPCC for Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Overseas Chinese for the 11th and 12th terms, and president of the Beijing Association of Overseas Chinese Merchants. She also received the United Nations “Outstanding Asian Women Lifelong Achievement Award,” interpreting the strength and responsibility of women through her actions.

She is not only a success in business, but also a guardian of cultural inheritance—devoting her lifelong efforts to the protection and promotion of rosewood art, investing to found the China Rosewood Museum and its Hengqin branch. She has preserved this treasured gem of traditional Chinese craft in full, making an indelible contribution to promoting excellent traditional culture.

While her business footprint continued to expand, attention also turned to Li Hua Chen’s wealth. She was once among the top in the Hurun ranking of female entrepreneurs with assets totaling several tens of billions, becoming a recognized benchmark “wealth woman.” And her marriage with the actor who played “Tang Seng” in the series, Chi Zhongrui, attracted intense public discussion—due to their age difference (the woman is 11 years older than the man). Since they married in 1990, this relationship crossing both social identity and age has also become one of the most talked-about chapters in her life.

Li Hua Chen had one son and two daughters (Zhao Yong, Zhao Li, and Zhao Min). After marrying Chi Zhongrui, they did not have any children together. In her earlier years, she began to prepare her children to take on the family business. Today, her eldest son, Zhao Yong, has already fully taken charge of Huahua International Group, becoming the core helm-holder of the business map.

Zhao Yong is currently the president of Huahua International Group. He leads the group’s strategy and business development in full. For many years, he has been deeply involved in the group’s core businesses, including real estate development and high-end commercial operations. He is the core inheritor of Li Hua Chen’s business legacy. Besides the eldest son, her eldest daughter Zhao Li and second daughter Zhao Min also participate deeply in group affairs, each responsible for managing different business segments, forming a family succession pattern of “the eldest son leads, the sisters assist.”

This kind of succession is not achieved overnight; it is the result of Li Hua Chen’s carefully laid plans over many years. She once said that during the 30 years of rosewood collecting, her family’s support was her strongest backing. Her children and husband all fully threw themselves into the rosewood cause and family business, allowing her business and cultural ideals to continue. Now that she has passed away, it has not triggered turmoil in the business landscape. The succession system had long since matured, laying a solid foundation for Huahua Group’s smooth transition.

Chi Zhongrui’s life after the marriage: the 74-year-old “Tang Seng,” facing the passage of time alone

Chi Zhongrui, who stayed by Li Hua Chen’s side for 36 years, was born on December 23, 1952. He is 74 years old. He became well known to the public as “Tang Seng” in the 1986 TV series “Journey to the West,” leaving a classic memory for generations. In 1990, the 49-year-old Li Hua Chen married the 38-year-old Chi Zhongrui. After that, for decades, Chi Zhongrui gradually withdrew from the entertainment industry, staying beside his wife, devoting himself to the family’s enterprises and the promotion of rosewood culture. For a time, the outside world thought he would grow old together with Li Hua Chen.

However, with Li Hua Chen’s passing, Chi Zhongrui’s life path has undergone a major change—this artist who once portrayed “mercy and compassion” on screen is now alone, facing his remaining years by himself. Chi Zhongrui has a harmonious relationship with Li Hua Chen’s children; Zhao Yong, Zhao Li, and others all respect their stepfather. How his future life will be arranged has also become a focus of public attention.

Chi Zhongrui’s life is deeply tied to a marriage and a legendary woman. In interviews, he has mentioned his time with Li Hua Chen, saying they supported and fulfilled one another. Although their marriage was controversial, it also carried warmth for decades. Now that the woman is gone, his remaining years are destined to be slowly lived through in remembering the past and living alone in the future.

This woman, who came out of Beijing’s hutongs, achieved both business success and cultural inheritance through a lifetime of effort. Her life story is both a history of a woman’s striving and a history of family inheritance. At the end of 85 years, the legend will never fade—and everything she left behind will continue to shine as time goes on.