Zhang Xin on Industry Transition

Pan Shiyi married his third wife, Zhang Xin, in 1994, and the couple co-founded SOHO China in 1995 in Beijing, building it from scratch into a major office-property developer during China's real estate boom.

Zhang's Burmese-Chinese parents immigrated to China and worked as translators at the Foreign Languages Press before separating during the Cultural Revolution; Zhang moved with her mother to Hong Kong at age 15, living in a room with only two bunk beds, and worked five years in small garment and electronics factories to save enough for airfare and self-support to study in London.

From 1995 to 2022, Zhang and her husband Pan Shiyi built SOHO China into a major office developer during China's property boom, before stepping down from the company ahead of the sector's subsequent downturn.