Pain and Gain

by+Chu+Jiwang

Four-star Minzu Hotel on Changan Avenue in Beijing has been my preferred lodging during business trips to the capital in recent years. However， I stayed in Princess Hejings Mansion Hotel on the East 2nd Ring Road during my last visit because it was near the location a journalist was interviewing me.

I didnt realize where the hotel was actually located – right in center of the city amongst a number of places of historical and cultural interest， such as the Imperial College and Yonghe Lamasery – until the cab pulled over.

A pair of imposing stone statues of Chinese unicorns guards the gate leading into an old quadrangle courtyard where the six-story brick hotel is located. “It was part of the dowry for Princess Hejing， the third daughter of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty over 200 years ago，” I was told.

That background seemed impressive enough for me.

Back in the 1980s when I first started my business， I could never imagine that I would one day be able to stay in a place like this. I was not qualified enough to have my pick of accommodations. I will never forget staying in a basement at the Chemical Engineering Research Institute under the Chinese Academy of Sciences at Zhongguancun in Beijing： 1.6 yuan a night for a frequent visitor like me. It was very close to Bus 332， only 0.05 yuan， which took me to the places I usually went： Beijing Zoo， Changan Avenue， and Tiananmen Square… so convenient. I rushed around， never felt tired， and was overjoyed each time I made things happen.

Today， Ive opened the door to luxury thanks to my thriving business. In recent years， I have stayed in many stunning hotels like Minzu and usually travel by taxi. Still， I will never forget the lean years during the early days of my company.

The long hot summer nights in a small hotel， where I fought mosquitoes， are still fresh in my mind： I wrapped myself with the sheet but felt smothered from the unbearable heat. While on a business trip in Shanghai， my son and I shared bunk beds with dozens of other guests in a single room.

I especially cherish the things I have today after enduring all manner of hardships such as squeezing onto a packed train and starving myself.

Bitterness can never be forgotten when people gain wealth. It serves as a balance to keep them happy and sweet. “The grass is not greener.” Never make such comparison.

I couldnt wait to look around the Princess Mansion after checking in： Covering 17，000 square meters， the hotel is a complex of three secluded courtyards filled with shady ancient trees， surrounded by buildings with cornices， carved beams and painted rafters， forming a sharp contrast with the noisy world of skyscrapers outside. The gates remain locked. The inscriptions have not changed despite being repainted many times over the last 200 years.

Emperors always dreamed of forwarding their power and fortune to later generations. But an irrefutable law of nature is that nobody can be rich forever.