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Who is the king of gold in China? The answer is 68-year-old Chen Jinghe, the head of Zijin Mining, which boasts a market value exceeding HKD 800 billion on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Additionally, Zijin Gold International, recently spun off from Zijin Mining, has completed its listing in Hong Kong with a market capitalization surpassing HKD 300 billion. Together with Longking Environmental Protection and Cangge Mining, these entities have formed a trillion-dollar “Zijin system”. Among those most affected by this wealth transformation are the villagers of Tongkang in Fujian.
Over 20 years ago, Zijin Mining requisitioned land from Tongkang Village, located in Shanghang County, Longyan City, Fujian. At that time, due to a lack of cash, the company could only provide original shares as compensation for the land. The villagers received what seemed like light, insubstantial stock certificates. Little did they know that these shares would unexpectedly provide them with more wealth than they could earn in a lifetime.
Originally, Tongkang Village was an unremarkable locality with over 1,400 Hakka residents primarily engaged in farming, mushroom picking, and timber trade. The community was characterized by low income and poor educational facilities. The fate of Tongkang Village changed when Chen Jinghe arrived in the 1980s to develop Zijin Mountain.
Around the turn of the century, Zijin Mining sought to requisition all arable land from the villagers. While Zijin Mining today earns hundreds of billions annually, at that time it faced significant financial constraints and could only allocate an original stock share as compensation. This marked the beginning of an unforeseen path to wealth.
The details of this historical moment can be gleaned from the IPO prospectus: at the end of 1998, the Tongkang Village Committee invested a total of CNY 774,000, which included compensation for the entire village's mountain and a small amount of additional funding, into Zijin Mining. When Zijin Mining transitioned to a joint-stock company in 2000, the village reinvested this amount, along with dividends and some assets. Subsequently, the shares were allocated to each household member, with each person receiving an original stock worth CNY 1,338.
Unexpectedly, just a few years later, the shares skyrocketed in value after Zijin Mining went public on the Hong Kong and main boards. The villagers’ original stock certificates surged by as much as 600 times in value. By 2009, when villagers cashed out their stocks, each received approximately CNY 800,000. As a result, nearly every villager became a millionaire, especially families holding multiple shares, whose wealth soared to over CNY 10 million.
The rush of wealth attracted insurance agents, financial advisors, and car salespeople to this rapidly transforming village. However, not all villagers benefited equally. Some unfortunately sold their original shares at discounts, driven by the fear that if Zijin Mining failed, their stocks would become worthless. At community meetings to distribute shares, many villagers hesitated to take stock certificates, preferring the more tangible land compensation. Some even pressured the village leader for cash, leading to one leader reluctantly buying two shares with borrowed money, thus unexpectedly doubling his wealth.
An insider from Zijin Mining recalled that when the company sought to promote its stocks during its restructuring, only 10% of the 10 million shares issued were sold, reflecting the skepticism surrounding the company at that time. Given the circumstances, it was understandable that original shares were overlooked.
Zijin Mining originated from a mineral company established in 1986 in Shanghang County, and Chen Jinghe took over when it was on the brink of collapse. At that time, the public saw Zijin Mountain as a “dead mine” with low-grade, hard-to-mine ore, deemed economically unviable. But Chen, trained in geology, was determined to turn the tide. He opted for a low-cost solution that involved extensive open-pit mining, which significantly slashed production costs to just 10%-20% of the industry average.
Years of successful operations proved that Chen’s strategy was indeed correct; Zijin Mining has never posted a loss since 2000. Even during the industry's downturn in 2015, when many major global mining companies suffered losses, Zijin Mining remained profitable.
In Longyan, Fujian, a small city now teeming with billionaires, a globally recognized company has emerged under Chen Jinghe’s leadership. Today, Zijin Mining's A-share market capitalization exceeds CNY 780 billion, while its market value in Hong Kong surpasses HKD 800 billion. The behemoth continues to expand: just last month, Zijin Mining successfully spun off Zijin Gold International, which, amid a surge in gold prices, saw its stock rocket up by 68% on its debut, bringing its market value to over HKD 300 billion.
At the bell-ringing ceremony, 68-year-old Chen Jinghe was unsurprisingly front and center. In reality, Chen resembles a successful professional manager; the largest shareholder of Zijin Mining is the state-owned Minxi Xinghang State Assets Investment Management Co., holding roughly 22.89%, with the ultimate controller being the Finance Bureau of Shanghang County. As chairman, Chen possesses significant operational autonomy within the company. His substantial compensation reflects this status; in 2024, he received a pre-tax salary of CNY 7.475 million. Due to various equity incentive plans, he holds approximately 85.1 million shares in the company, valued over CNY 2.5 billion.
However, even with such wealth, Chen Jinghe is just one of many from his hometown on the billionaire list. From Longyan, not only is Chen Jinghe prominent but also figures like Zhang Yiming, the founder of ByteDance; Wang Xing of Meituan; Yao Xiongjie of Shengtun Mining; Qiu Wensheng of Huqin Technology; and Fang Sanwen of Xueqiu, all hail from this small city. Their fortunes range from hundreds of millions to billions.
In June, Zhang Yiming emerged as China’s richest man for the first time at the age of 42, according to the New Fortune 500 Rich List. It’s rare to find a small town that hosts such a concentration of billionaires. Perhaps for this reason, in a land infused with the genetics of an elite class of super-rich, the fates of the city and of its people are destined to be filled with more tensions and legends—much like the sudden wealth of Tongkang Village.