The other day, I, as a host, had a meal with a friend, who is a mayor, in a small but special restaurant on the West Nanjing Road. In the simple restaurant, he somehow talked about the issue of life and argued that man should copy their ancestors and live a simple and happy life, which would guarantee health, confidence and sincerity. This friend, just like me, gave up everything and started from scratch in the Hainan Province in the early 1990s.
Recently, upon the invitation of a related department under the municipal government of Chongqing, I paid a visit to the city inspecting local luxurious hotels. During the visit, I mentioned to Ms Liu Xiangyun, the president of the Brilliant Group, that I would like to visit Brilliant Resort & Spa Chongqing, a subsidiary of the Group. Brilliant Resort & Spa Chongqing is among the most luxurious and special hotels in China. The prices of its rooms range from several thousand to dozens of thousand per night. In terms of marketing and operation, the resort is comparable with BanyanTree, the International Top Brand, and is a nouveau-riche in Chinese hospitality high-end market. Even when you ignore the special enjoyment of carefully arranged trips in Mercedes-Benz Tourers, considerate and personal butler service and special iced plum tea, the location of the resort--- being right in the time-honored hot spring park, with the Mt. Jinyun, a famous mountain in Chinese Taoism, in the back, the grand and turbulent Chia-ling River and the 1,600-year-old Hot Spring Temple nearby, comes as a great attraction.
Upon arrival, we wasted no time in looking around and taking pictures in the sun, in the ancient woods and in a visional wonderland, taking down all the beauty and cultural accumulation in the resort. After a three-hour visit, we were all obsessed by the pleasure and inspirations. We had a bowl of vegetable porridge in a hurry in the resort before we went down the mountain hurrying to Chengdu.
It is worthy of mentioning that Ms Liu Xiangyun called and told me that what she did was just like what so many outstanding Chinese out there are doing heart and soul. I answered that when learning the best of foreign cultures and philosophies, Chinese should also go beyond themselves. “President Liu, you not only boast a beautiful appearance, but also have the mind to organize all those things such as the ancient Heshun town, the Brilliant Pu’Er, the Brilliant commerce, its charity activities and the corporate culture innovation, all being remarkable and getting a lot of attention. But our concern is that how far this brand will go.”
Recently, we went to Banyan Tree Hangzhou located in the historic Xixi National Wetland Park and paid a visit to Taiwan to inspect the local hospitality industry. The BanyanTree is an international top luxurious hotel brand established by Mr. He Guangping, an overseas Chinese. The brand has been in Chinese market for quite a few years. I heard about the brand during a breakfast with Mr. Yu Qiuyu  at a restaurant in Sanya in the year 2007 when he made a few nice remarks. As a result, I paid a special trip to the ancient Beam River Town in Lijiang River City the year after and visited a BanyanTree under the arrangement of Ms Wu Xiaodong, the general manager of BanyanTree China Region. Last year, I wrote an article named Thoughts in a Border Town, which I remember was written upon the inspiration from lying in the tube of the villa in the early morning and watching the Yulong Jokul from a distance.
I am not writing this article to make propaganda for luxury and the so-called “aristocratic lifestyle for an enterprise”. I did refer to some seemingly high-profile expressions such as a mayor, Brilliant Spa and BanyanTree. However, if you observe beyond the literal meaning of those expressions, you can see a figure in a primitive area, a distant border town, or a small but special restaurant that is dedicated to express the true feelings in one’s heart and realize the needs deep inside one’s soul---always tell the true qualities, the real life and the exact history.
The mayor and I all came to this world fresh and new and went through the tough 1960s. He wins universal respect because he is ordinary and seldom distinguishes himself from others just for being a mayor.
Those entrepreneurs who underwent pains and sufferings have done lots of charity and good deeds. They take numerous credits and are recognized by the world because they remain calm even after making great achievements and still strive to make contributions to the nation and even to the world when they are rich and illustrious, leaving us the precious, vigorous and best culture and spirits.