On February 25, 2024, a shocking news spread to all corners of China and the world: Zong Qinghou, the founder and chairman of Wahaha Group, died at 10:30 a.m. in Hangzhou at the age of 79 due to ineffective medical treatment. This private entrepreneur, who has been the richest man in China three times and is known as China's business master, has left Wahaha, which he founded and led for nearly 40 years, and the motherland he loved and dedicated his life to.
Zong Qinghou's life is a microcosm of China's reform and opening up, and it is also an epic of the development of China's private enterprises. From an ordinary teacher, to an entrepreneur who dares to innovate, and then to a giant who leads a 100-billion-level enterprise, he has experienced countless difficulties and obstacles, and has also created countless brilliant achievements. His story has inspired generations of Chinese and made indelible contributions to China's economic and social progress.
Zong Qinghou was born in 1945 in a peasant family in Fuyang District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. His childhood was not happy, and due to his poor family, he had to help his parents with farm work since he was a child, and he did not go to school for a day. It was not until 1958 that he had the opportunity to enter primary school, but due to the influence of ***, his studies were interrupted again. In 1970, he was admitted to Fuyang Normal School in Zhejiang Province and became a teacher. In 1979, he was admitted to the ** School of Education of Zhejiang University to study political economy. While teaching, he also continued to learn new knowledge and broaden his horizons.
In 1987, with the support of the principal of Fuyang Normal School, Zong Qinghou founded Fuyang Children's Food Factory, which was a turning point in his life and the predecessor of Wahaha. He went from a teacher to an entrepreneur and started his entrepreneurial journey. His first product was a children's nutrition solution, which he used as a teacher to market to schools and parents, and soon opened up the market. His second product is Wahaha Eight Treasure Porridge, which he used his innovative spirit to improve the traditional Eight Treasure Porridge into a convenient canned drink, which was well received by consumers as soon as it was launched. His third product is Wahaha pure water, and he used his foresight to seize the opportunity of China's drinking water market and create a precedent for bottled water in China. His fourth product is Wahaha functional drink, he used his scientific attitude to develop drinks with health care effects, such as Wahaha AD calcium milk, Wahaha nutrition express, etc., adding a guarantee to the health of Chinese.
Zong Qinghou's entrepreneurial road was not smooth sailing, and he also encountered many difficulties and challenges. He has faced various crises such as financial constraints, market competition, brand competition, and equity disputes, but he has been able to resolve the crisis with a strong will and a wise strategy. He has also faced various changes such as product upgrades, market expansion, and enterprise transformation, but he has been able to lead the changes and walk in the forefront with an open mind and innovative thinking. He has also faced various issues such as social responsibility, public welfare and charity, and successor talents, but he has been able to fulfill his responsibilities and repay the society with noble character and broad mind.
Zong Qinghou's entrepreneurial road is also a road that continues to create miracles. With his own efforts and wisdom, he has developed a small children's food factory into a large enterprise group with nearly 200 subsidiaries, an annual turnover of more than 100 billion yuan, nearly 100,000 employees, and products covering beverages, food, health products, medicine and other fields. With his own brand and influence, he has built Wahaha into a well-known brand that is well-known among consumers, loved by consumers, and well-known at home and abroad. With his wealth and status, he has been on the throne of China's richest man in Forbes three times, is known as China's business master, and has won numerous honors such as the National Model Worker, the National Outstanding Entrepreneur, and the China Reform Friendship Medal.
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