童之夢(mèng)，龍之夢(mèng)

文/沈晶晶 葉詩蕾

2022年國(guó)慶期間，太湖龍之夢(mèng)樂園上演大型高空煙花秀，向國(guó)慶獻(xiàn)禮。龍之夢(mèng)/供圖To celebrate the 2022 National Day holiday, a large fireworks show was staged at the time at the Taihu Longemont Paradise. Photo credit: Taihu Longemont Paradise.

過了龍之夢(mèng)隧道，一座文旅新城赫然入眼。

酒店、古鎮(zhèn)、動(dòng)物園、會(huì)議中心、濕地公園等，沿著弁山鋪開，直到南太湖畔。憑借2.8萬間客房、7萬個(gè)演藝席位、3萬個(gè)停車泊位、30萬平方米宴會(huì)會(huì)議廳等超大規(guī)模，太湖龍之夢(mèng)樂園在中國(guó)乃至全球都獨(dú)樹一幟。

環(huán)顧市場(chǎng)，很多投資者的表情是“遲疑”，但龍之夢(mèng)造城人、上海長(zhǎng)峰集團(tuán)董事長(zhǎng)童錦泉反其道而行：年初以來在長(zhǎng)興投入10多億元，歡樂世界、冰雪世界、養(yǎng)老公寓等新項(xiàng)目大規(guī)模開工。力排質(zhì)疑，他接下去還要到衢州六春湖山，再造一個(gè)新樂園。

站在龍之夢(mèng)鉆石酒店28樓向下眺望，童錦泉看著一輛輛穿過隧道的車。盡管是工作日，這里客流不斷。

“我就一個(gè)‘敢’字?！彼f，無論遇到什么樣的困難，逢山開路、遇水架橋，機(jī)遇之門都是闖出來的，低谷中反而蘊(yùn)藏轉(zhuǎn)機(jī)。

此刻，百年變局和世紀(jì)疫情相互交織，世界經(jīng)濟(jì)復(fù)蘇步履維艱。“發(fā)展還是衰退？”面對(duì)時(shí)代之問，銳意創(chuàng)業(yè)55年的童錦泉，正在謀劃新一輪出發(fā)。中國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)的強(qiáng)大韌性，讓他深信自己的判斷：大眾旅游的黃金時(shí)代正在到來。

從不固守成規(guī)的童錦泉，這一次依然沒有后退。

直面困境，他始終勇往直前

人們常說：“誠(chéng)實(shí)守信?！蓖\泉卻將它改了一個(gè)字，變?yōu)椤罢\(chéng)實(shí)自信”，引為自己的座右銘：誠(chéng)實(shí)自信是成功之本。

跨界扎進(jìn)文旅行業(yè)，童錦泉的兩次出場(chǎng)足夠自信，甚至高調(diào)。

一次是2015年，他宣布要在長(zhǎng)興建一座旅游城，規(guī)模對(duì)標(biāo)美國(guó)奧蘭多迪士尼。另一次是今年，他決定和衢州市政府聯(lián)合開發(fā)六春湖項(xiàng)目，總投資約90億元。

如此大手筆，一出手就引發(fā)市場(chǎng)關(guān)注。一開始，所有人好奇：童錦泉是誰？到今天，這個(gè)疑問演變?yōu)椋核趺磮?jiān)持？

童錦泉是誰？一位立志創(chuàng)造民族文旅品牌的夢(mèng)想家，一位低調(diào)樸素的民營(yíng)企業(yè)家。他最近一次公開出現(xiàn)在人們視野中，是出席大馬戲首演謝幕式—絢麗燈光下，頭發(fā)花白的童錦泉，穿一件舊T恤，露出白色背心一角，一只褲子口袋還外翻著。他雙手舉過肩膀，向舞臺(tái)三面鞠躬，像一位恭恭敬敬對(duì)著土地的農(nóng)民。

童錦泉坦言，規(guī)劃龍之夢(mèng)不是沖動(dòng)，他考慮了各種風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，甚至想到過如何應(yīng)對(duì)2003年的SARS危機(jī)重演，為此做了很多準(zhǔn)備。他立下一條規(guī)矩：所有投資，不靠銀行貸款，全靠畢生積蓄。一定程度上，這幫助龍之夢(mèng)緩解了疫情期間流動(dòng)資金的困難。

做最壞的打算，做最全的準(zhǔn)備，企業(yè)“敢與不敢”之間，是決策者的勇氣，更是充分積累不懼挑戰(zhàn)的底氣。

今年3月12日，在龍游待了兩小時(shí)，再到六春湖山頂看了5分鐘，童錦泉當(dāng)場(chǎng)拍板，“這個(gè)項(xiàng)目，我投！”

在場(chǎng)的人無不驚訝。龍游縣國(guó)資公司總經(jīng)理徐嘉龍，用“不可思議”形容自己的心情，“這不是普普通通的投資，是90億元，打水漂怎么辦？很多知名景區(qū)都在叫苦，游客不來，項(xiàng)目失敗怎么辦？”

連親眼見證龍之夢(mèng)成型、熟悉童錦泉性格的長(zhǎng)興縣政協(xié)副主席、太湖圖影旅游度假區(qū)負(fù)責(zé)人成仁貴也瞪大了眼，“老童膽子大得嚇人”。他勸童錦泉：“疫情期間穩(wěn)一點(diǎn)，把龍之夢(mèng)做完就好?！?/p>

童錦泉何嘗不知道其中艱難：投資文旅項(xiàng)目，本就像場(chǎng)馬拉松，成本大、周期長(zhǎng)、過程苦、結(jié)果未知。3年來，面對(duì)疫情，全國(guó)旅行社、酒店、景區(qū)一邊裁員降成本，一邊嘗試轉(zhuǎn)型，龍之夢(mèng)也一次次在關(guān)停和重啟之間切換。今年初，疫情更在北上廣一線城市暴發(fā)，旅游主力人群出行受阻，收入和消費(fèi)預(yù)期變差，不少旅游城市幾乎“斷炊”。

真金白銀投下去，這是用一輩子的心血在搏！

但那個(gè)季節(jié)，從六春湖山頂望下去，滿眼皚皚雪景。童錦泉看到了一塊璞玉：整個(gè)浙西南缺少好產(chǎn)品，缺少一站式旅游目的地，他的“龍之夢(mèng)”有了下一站的天空。

童錦泉就是這個(gè)脾氣，看到機(jī)會(huì)就亢奮，認(rèn)準(zhǔn)的事就勇往直前。他說自己只讀了5年書，所以不相信條條框框，別人畏首畏尾時(shí)，他就要敢為人先。

2022年國(guó)慶期間，太湖龍之夢(mèng)樂園萬名游客大合唱，以歌聲祝福共和國(guó)生日。龍之夢(mèng)/供圖Tens of thousands of visitors sing in celebration of the 2022 National Day at the Taihu Longemont Paradise. Photo credit: Taihu Longemont Paradise.

太湖古鎮(zhèn)煙花大會(huì)。幾凡/攝The fireworks show at the Taihu Lake Ancient Town. Photo by Ji Fan.

同樣一幕，也發(fā)生在2015年。敲定龍之夢(mèng)投資意向后不久，童錦泉突然提出“一萬間不夠、要造兩萬間客房”。連長(zhǎng)興縣主要領(lǐng)導(dǎo)都急了，連夜帶隊(duì)前往上海勸說。面對(duì)“游客從哪里來”“造多久”“什么時(shí)候有收益”等一連串問題，童錦泉拿出計(jì)算器，對(duì)著辦公室里5塊大屏，給長(zhǎng)興干部算成本、算效益?！爸袊?guó)有多少人，這個(gè)市場(chǎng)有多大！”說到激動(dòng)處，他用力拍了拍身邊人的胳膊，“老童第一次做旅游，但有信心、能干成！”

攥緊打開市場(chǎng)的鑰匙，他履行了承諾。

過去3年，童錦泉沒有動(dòng)搖“一年吸引3000萬游客”的目標(biāo)，也沒有停下對(duì)龍之夢(mèng)的投資。他說，上海的產(chǎn)業(yè)賺多少就在這里投多少。按照當(dāng)初規(guī)劃的那樣，馬戲城、嬉水世界等項(xiàng)目一個(gè)個(gè)開放，《醉美太湖》《魔境之旅》等演出一部部上演。眾多景區(qū)中，太湖龍之夢(mèng)樂園以玩法多樣、性價(jià)比高脫穎而出。

疫情反復(fù)，文旅行業(yè)困難重重，再加上公眾消費(fèi)動(dòng)力不強(qiáng)，不少景區(qū)營(yíng)收慘淡。龍之夢(mèng)卻能罕見“逆襲”，實(shí)現(xiàn)令人驚訝的正增長(zhǎng)：僅過去兩個(gè)月，就吸引300多萬游客，今年收入已超7億元。

絕地反擊，他善于開辟生機(jī)

采訪中，童錦泉講了一件小事。2018年10月，為了排演夢(mèng)幻鉆石演藝秀，他招募了六七十名外國(guó)演員，然而按照工程進(jìn)度，酒店要到春節(jié)前才能開業(yè)。演出的票不能銷售，但每天20多萬元的工資要開，怎么辦？

童錦泉想了個(gè)招，說動(dòng)湖州市總工會(huì)、市農(nóng)業(yè)農(nóng)村局，先給職工送票，再請(qǐng)當(dāng)?shù)卮迕窨葱恪Ｑ莩鰣?chǎng)場(chǎng)火爆，足足持續(xù)了90天，直到酒店開業(yè)，從而捧出了龍之夢(mèng)的知名度。

從這件事里，童錦泉琢磨出一個(gè)道理：沒有走不出去的困局，辦法用對(duì)了，困局正是難得的機(jī)會(huì)。他是一個(gè)堅(jiān)持“一條道走到底”的人，也是一個(gè)真正意義上相信“人生有很多條路能走”的人。

來到浙江創(chuàng)業(yè)前，童錦泉最廣為人知的身份是上海龍之夢(mèng)商業(yè)地產(chǎn)的擁有者。他55年的創(chuàng)業(yè)人生，恰是中國(guó)改革開放歷程的生動(dòng)寫照。

13歲，他學(xué)做篾匠，一年半攢下50元錢。用這筆錢，他買了一箱蜜蜂，3年后一箱變十箱，賣出后賺了360元，前后7年共掙了5萬元。20世紀(jì)80年代，社會(huì)商品短缺，他轉(zhuǎn)頭辦廠，趕上鄉(xiāng)鎮(zhèn)企業(yè)發(fā)展高潮，生產(chǎn)的體育用品占到全國(guó)5%的份額。1992年，他抓住舊城改造和浦東開發(fā)的機(jī)遇，進(jìn)軍上海房地產(chǎn)市場(chǎng)，一手創(chuàng)辦長(zhǎng)峰集團(tuán)。

進(jìn)入2015年，整個(gè)房地產(chǎn)市場(chǎng)高歌猛進(jìn)時(shí)，童錦泉卻選擇激流勇退、踩住剎車，轉(zhuǎn)而投資連年逆勢(shì)增長(zhǎng)、產(chǎn)品有效供給卻不足的旅游業(yè)，他堅(jiān)信這是“下一個(gè)風(fēng)口”。

跟著時(shí)代走、跟著需求走，讓童錦泉敏銳洞察機(jī)遇，也能在絕境中開辟生機(jī)。

2020年初，全球突發(fā)疫情，龍之夢(mèng)正式運(yùn)營(yíng)不滿一年，因?yàn)槭沁呴_邊建，后續(xù)還需源源不斷大筆投入。建了大半的項(xiàng)目、4000名員工的生計(jì)、政府希望拉動(dòng)周邊發(fā)展的期待……所有壓力，系于一身。

童錦泉把自己“關(guān)”進(jìn)了酒店28樓的房間，很少有人知道他具體想了什么。但幾天后，他下了一個(gè)指令，出乎所有員工意料—把景區(qū)內(nèi)獨(dú)立通風(fēng)設(shè)計(jì)的幾棟樓，規(guī)劃成適合疫情防控的隔離酒店。

后來的事證明，童錦泉的應(yīng)對(duì)贏得了先機(jī)。去年下半年以來，憑借硬件規(guī)模和設(shè)施條件，龍之夢(mèng)成為長(zhǎng)三角地區(qū)唯一的特大型隔離場(chǎng)所。

還有一件趣事。68歲的童錦泉和78歲的吳曉紅，要在龍之夢(mèng)合作建“東方盆景園”時(shí)，長(zhǎng)興人人都說，“這兩個(gè)倔老頭肯定吵起來”。但園子都造完了，兩個(gè)人也沒紅過臉、發(fā)過脾氣。吳曉紅私下說：“老童比誰都靈活?！?/p>

別看這3年龍之夢(mèng)方向框架沒變，內(nèi)里細(xì)節(jié)卻已調(diào)了多次—原來規(guī)劃的是嬉水世界、歡樂世界、海洋世界，沒有實(shí)現(xiàn)“四季能玩”目標(biāo)，后來就追加建一個(gè)冰雪世界；部分游客想有精致的住宿體驗(yàn)，就提前投建高端島墅項(xiàng)目；暑期過后，親子游高峰不再，瞄準(zhǔn)會(huì)議需求，拓展全新業(yè)態(tài)；此外，還開了煙花秀、水秀、馬戲……

最終效果，體現(xiàn)在一張張數(shù)據(jù)報(bào)表上：平均每場(chǎng)馬戲上座率超90%，會(huì)議訂單已經(jīng)排到11月底……民營(yíng)企業(yè)謀發(fā)展，靠的是苦心孤詣求創(chuàng)新，才能“闖”出一片天地。何為“闖”？披荊斬棘、一往無前是闖，打破陳規(guī)、開辟新路是闖。童錦泉笑著說，他把游客需求里里外外研究了幾千上萬遍，“吃、住、行、游、購(gòu)、娛、養(yǎng)、育、展，只要老百姓喜歡的，就想盡辦法把合適的項(xiàng)目引進(jìn)來”。

吳曉紅一直保存著一張照片。盆景園建成那年冬天，童錦泉一手拄著竹杖、一手拉著他，邊逛園子邊唱《我和我的祖國(guó)》。每每回想這個(gè)畫面，他總會(huì)感嘆：“老童這人，真像這園子里的梅花，多冷的天都能適應(yīng)，沒什么困難能打倒他，要倒，他也是最后一個(gè)?！?/p>

披荊斬棘，歸來依舊是少年

這幾年，沒有一家企業(yè)的日子是輕輕松松的。

成仁貴見過童錦泉的苦，“最難的時(shí)候，上萬間客房就住了幾十個(gè)客人，老童也60多歲的人了，話說著說著，眼淚流了下來”。

連續(xù)5年駐扎龍之夢(mèng)項(xiàng)目一線的長(zhǎng)興縣文廣旅體局干部許慧，見過童錦泉的愁，“每天一大清早，他就拄著竹杖在動(dòng)物園、嬉水世界轉(zhuǎn)，看看造好的東西心情好一點(diǎn)”。

但苦和難的事，只能說到這兒。再往后講，童錦泉就擺擺手，“做事要緊”。

在上海時(shí)，許慧這批“援龍干部”的辦公室就和童錦泉的辦公室緊挨著。童錦泉每天六點(diǎn)半準(zhǔn)時(shí)上班，觀看施工現(xiàn)場(chǎng)發(fā)來的照片，查閱當(dāng)天的報(bào)告和新聞，每隔一小時(shí)要求各部門提交一次數(shù)據(jù)報(bào)告。

疫情期間，童錦泉也沒有絲毫放松。別人覺得可以歇一歇時(shí)，他拼命趕進(jìn)度。百花島酒店、馬戲這些新項(xiàng)目，從工程管理到節(jié)目編排，從成本預(yù)算到舞臺(tái)特效，甚至“一只鴿子從這頭飛到那頭花幾秒”這樣的細(xì)節(jié)，他都一絲不茍。

才幾個(gè)月，徐嘉龍連作息時(shí)間都變了。原來，童錦泉要他每隔3天就帶無人機(jī)到六春湖飛一趟，拍下視頻傳送給他，“經(jīng)常在清晨六點(diǎn)半、中午一點(diǎn)接到童總電話，他做決策很大膽，但真正落地時(shí)又很細(xì)”。

童錦泉評(píng)價(jià)自己沒別的愛好，不愛社交，就愛工作，兩萬天如一日。無論是做篾匠，養(yǎng)蜜蜂，改革開放后辦工廠，闖蕩上海經(jīng)營(yíng)地產(chǎn)，還是后來轉(zhuǎn)型做文旅，他都喜歡把每件事弄得清清楚楚，并在實(shí)踐中不斷學(xué)習(xí)、不斷創(chuàng)新，走出不一樣的路。

有一回，宋城集團(tuán)創(chuàng)始人、《宋城千古情》總導(dǎo)演黃巧靈到龍之夢(mèng)參觀交流，工作人員向他展示了一份特別的學(xué)習(xí)報(bào)告：先將一場(chǎng)秀拆解成舞蹈、聲樂、機(jī)械等各個(gè)元素，再像股票K線圖一樣畫出一張圖表，上面標(biāo)出觀眾笑了幾次、鼓掌幾次、贊嘆幾次，最后注明每種情緒由哪些元素引發(fā)。黃巧靈大感震撼：“竟有人這樣學(xué)演藝。”

“這是我老童最寶貴的才能?！睂?duì)這件事，童錦泉有點(diǎn)得意，摸清技術(shù)和規(guī)律后，他自己當(dāng)導(dǎo)演創(chuàng)作的《醉美太湖》歌舞秀，用現(xiàn)代聲光電藝術(shù)，演繹千百年間發(fā)生在太湖畔的傳說故事，他笑稱，人氣贏過百老匯。

一位晚輩看望童錦泉時(shí)曾問過，如今不讀書，還能像他一樣成功嗎？童錦泉思考良久，回答道：“今天的中國(guó)，創(chuàng)業(yè)氛圍不一樣了。但是什么都能變，勤奮和堅(jiān)持的精神不能變?！?/p>

披荊斬棘，歸來依舊是少年。他的夢(mèng)，正在更大的版圖上實(shí)現(xiàn)。

（張澤民對(duì)此文也有貢獻(xiàn)）

水舞煙花秀—水上飛人。龍之夢(mèng)/供圖The flyboard fireworks show. Photo credit: Taihu Longemont Paradise.

Tong’s Dream: Longemont Paradise

By Shen Jingjing Ye Shilei

童錦泉在龍之夢(mèng)大馬戲首演謝幕活動(dòng)上。龍之夢(mèng)/供圖Tong Jinquan delivers a speech after the first show of the circus at the Taihu Longemont Paradise. Photo credit: Taihu Longemont Paradise.

After passing through the Longemont Tunnel, a new cultural tourism city appears. Hotels, ancient towns, the zoo, the conference center, the wetland park, etc., are spread along Bianshan Mountain to the shore of South Taihu Lake. With 28,000 guest rooms, 70,000 performance seats, 30,000 parking spaces, and a 300,000-squaremeter banquet and conference hall, Taihu Longemont Paradise is unique in China and even in the world.

Across the market, many investors appear “hesitant”, but Tong Jinquan, the founder of Longemont and chairman of Shanghai Changfeng Group, has done the opposite: in this year,he has invested more than one billion yuan ($137 million) in Changxing county, Huzhou city and new projects like Happy World, Ice and Snow World, and pension apartments were started on a large scale. He assured others that he would go to Liuchunhu Mountain in Quzhou city to build a new paradise.

Looking down from the 28th floor of the Longemont Diamond hotel, Tong Jinquan watched vehicles passing through the tunnel. Although it was a weekday, there was a constant flow of passengers. “I only say ‘dare’,” No matter what difficulties Tong encountered, by opening a road in mountains and building bridges over water, he always had the door of opportunity, and there is a turning point in the trough. At this moment, the changes in a century and the pandemic of the century are intertwined, and the recovery of the world economy is shaky. “Development or recession?” Facing the question, Tong, who has been so determined in his own business for 55 years, is planning a new kickoff. The resilience of the Chinese economy has convinced him that the golden age of mass tourism is coming. Tong, who never sticks to the rules, does not back down even this time.

Tong Jinquan has the following saying as his own motto:“Honesty and self-confidence are the foundation of success.”Changing lanes into the cultural tourism industry, his show-up twice is confidence itself, even high-profile. In 2015, he announced that he would build a tourist city in Changxing, the scale of which would be comparable to Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando,Florida. Then this year, in 2022, he decided to jointly develop the Liuchunhu project with the Quzhou Municipal Government, with a total investment of about nine billion yuan. Such a large amount of money attracted the attention of the market as soon as the news was released. At the beginning, everyone was curious: Who is Tong Jinquan? To this day, the question has evolved into: How will he keep on?

Who is Tong Jinquan? A dreamer determined to create a national cultural and tourism brand, and a low-key and simple entrepreneur. His most recent public appearance was at the curtain-calling ceremony of the premiere of the big circus: under the brilliant spotlights, the gray-haired Tong was in an old T-shirt,revealing a corner of a white vest, and one of his trouser pocket was turned inside out. He raised his hands over his shoulders and bowed from the stage to three sides, like a peasant respectfully facing the land.

Tong Jinquan said frankly that his Longemont plan was not impulsive. He considered various risks, and even thought of the recurrence of the SARS crisis in 2003, and made proper preparations for this. He set a rule: all investment will come from his own savings instead of bank loans. To a certain extent,this helped Longemont alleviate liquidity difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On March 12, after staying in Longyou county, Quzhou city for two hours, and then visiting the top of Liuchunhu for five minutes, Tong Jinquan made the decision on the spot. Everyone present was surprised. Xu Jialong, general manager of Longyou County State-owned Assets Company, described his mood as“incredible”: “This is no ordinary investment, but nine billion yuan. What if you fail? “

Even Cheng Rengui, vice chairman of Changxing County People’s Political Consultative Conference and head of Taihu Tuying Tourism Resort, who witnessed the formation of Longemont and is familiar with Tong Jinquan’s character, also widened his eyes, “Old Tong is too bold.” Tong Jinquan knows the difficulty: investing in cultural tourism projects is like a marathon,with high cost, long cycle, painful process and unknown results.In the past three years, travel agencies, hotels, and scenic spots across the country have tried to transform themselves while laying off staff and reducing costs. Longemont also switched between shutdown and restart again and again. At the beginning of 2022,the pandemic broke out in cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou and the main tourist groups were unable to travel, and the income and consumption expectations became worse. Many tourist cities almost “ran out of food”.

But in that season, looking down across the snow-covered scenes from the top of Liuchunhu Mountain, Tong Jinquan saw a piece of raw jade: the whole southwestern Zhejiang lacked good products and one-stop tourist destinations, and his Longemont had the sky for the next stop.

Tong Jinquan has this temper. He gets excited when he sees an opportunity, and moves forward bravely when he sees it. He said that he had only five years of schooling, so he did not believe in set rules. When others were afraid, he would dare to be the first.The same scene happened in 2015. Shortly after finalizing the investment intention of Longemont, Tong suddenly proposed that“10,000 rooms are not enough, but 20,000 rooms are needed”.Even the main leaders of Changxing county government were afraid of the risks that they went to Shanghai overnight to dissuade him.Faced with a series of questions such as “Where do tourists come from?”, “How long does it take to build it?” and “When will it be profitable?” Tong Jinquan took out a calculator to sum up the cost and bene fit before the Changxing officials. “How many people are there in China, and how big is this market!” Excitedly, he patted the people around him on the arms, “This is the first time I have invested in tourism, but I am confident and will be successful!”Clutching the key to the market, he fulfilled his promise.

In the past three years, Tong Jinquan never faltered from the goal of “attracting 30 million tourists a year”, nor has he stopped investing. He said that he would invest here as much as his industries in Shanghai earned. According to the original plan, projects such as Circus City and Water World opened one by one, and performances such asandwere staged one by one.Taihu Longemont Paradise stands out for its diverse gameplay and splendid performance. Longemont has achieved surprisingly positive growth: In the past two months alone, it has attracted more than three million tourists, and the revenue in 2022 has exceeded 700 million yuan.

龍之夢(mèng)國(guó)際馬戲城。龍之夢(mèng)/供圖The Circus City at the Taihu Longemont Paradise. Photo credit: Taihu Longemont Paradise.

In October 2018, he recruited about 70 foreign actors for the rehearsal of the Fantasy Diamond show. However, the hotel could not open until the eve of the Spring Festival. Tickets for the performance could not be sold, but the daily salary of more than 200,000 yuan had to be paid. What should he do? Tong Jinquan persuaded Huzhou Federation of Trade Unions and the Municipal Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs to give free tickets to the employees first, and invite local villagers to watch the show for 90 consecutive days until the opening of the hotel. Longemont became a hit. He is a person who truly believes that “there are many paths in life”.

Before coming to Zhejiang to start a new business, Tong Jinquan was best known as the owner of Shanghai Longemont commercial real estate. His 55-year entrepreneurial life is a vivid portrayal of China’s reform and opening-up. At the age of 13, he learned making bamboo baskets and saved 50 yuan in 500 days.With the money, he bought a box of bees. After three years, one box became ten boxes, and he earned 360 yuan from the sale. He earned a total of 50,000 yuan in seven years. In the 1980s, he set up a factory, whose sporting goods accounted for five percent of the whole country. In 1992, he entered Shanghai’s real estate market and founded Changfeng Group. In 2015, when the entire real estate market was advancing by leaps and bounds, Tong Jinquan chose to retreat bravely, and invested in the growing tourism industry, which was still faced with insufficient product supply.

When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in early 2020,Longemont had officially operated for less than a year. It still required a steady stream of large investment. The half-finished projects, the livelihood of 4,000 employees and the government’s expectation to stimulate the development of the surrounding area ...all the pressures were heaped together on him.

Tong Jinquan “l(fā)ocked” himself up in a room on the 28th floor of the hotel. A few days later, he gave an order to the surprise of all employees — to transform several buildings in the scenic area with independent ventilation design as a quarantine hotel. Later events proved that Tong’s response brought the first opportunity. Since the second half of 2021, with its scale and facilities, Longemont has become the only extra-large quarantine hotel in the Yangtze River Delta region. So far, it has accommodated 50,000 people returning from overseas, Shanghai and other places in 458,000 room-night quarantine tasks.

龍之夢(mèng)嬉水世界室外造浪池。龍之夢(mèng)/供圖The wave-waving pool at the Water World of the Taihu Longemont Paradise.Photo credit: Taihu Longemont Paradise.

When 68-year-old Tong Jinquan and 78-year-old Wu Xiaohong wanted to build an “Oriental Bonsai Garden” together in Longemont, everyone in Changxing said, “These two stubborn old men will de finitely quarrel.” The garden is completed but they never disagreed or lost their temper. Wu Xiaohong said privately, “Old Tong is more flexible than anyone else.” Though in the three years the orientation of Longemont has not changed, the internal details have been adjusted many times: the original plan of the water world,the happy world, and the ocean world did not meet the goal of being “playable in four seasons”, so an additional ice and snow world was built; some tourists wanted to have an exquisite accommodation experience, so they invested in high-end island villa projects ahead of schedule; after the summer vacation, the peak of parent-child travel was no longer there, so they aimed at meeting needs for conference and expanded new business formats; in addition, there were fireworks shows, water shows, circus ....

The final effect is reflected in the data reports: the average attendance rate of each circus show exceeded 90 percent, and the conference venues have been booked until the end of next November. ... Tong Jinquan said with a smile that he has pondered over the needs of tourists thousands of times, inside and out,“Eating, housing, traveling, touring, shopping, entertainment,keeping fit, nurturing, and exhibiting; as long as people like it,we will try our best to make it happen. And the right projects are brought in.”

Tong Jinquan commented that he has no other hobbies. He doesn’t like socializing, but he likes to work. 20,000 days are like one day. He likes to analyze the entertainment programs. “This is the most precious talent of me old boy.” Tong was a little proud of this matter. After figuring out the techniques and rules, he directed the song and dance show, which utilizes modern sound and light art to interpret the legendary stories that happened by the Taihu Lake in a thousand years. Its popularity must have surpassed the shows on the Broadway, he said with a smile.