It’s all go

ZHEJIANG IS THE most entrepreneurial place in China. Fan Li, celebrated as the ancestor of all Chinese merchants, worked there some 2,500 years ago. Li Linde, commemorated as China’s first international businessman for trading with Japan in the 9th century, also hailed from this province. In modern times, too, it has produced private-sector titans. Li Shufu, the boss of Geely, a carmaker, acquired Sweden’s Volvo. Lu Guanqiu, Wanxiang’s chairman, controls the world’s top independent car-parts firm. Zong Qinghou, founder of Wahaha, went from street hawker to drinks magnate. Guo Guangchang of Fosun, a Shanghai-based conglomerate, was born in Zhejiang, and the family of Ren Zhengfei, the founder of Huawei, came from there.