The de-facto Who's Who of China 's business elite

If maturity can be measured by transparency, China 's private sector can be said to be maturing fast. Armed with a pen and a pad of paper, one Shanghai entrepreneur in September drew me out a detailed ownership structure of his billion-dollar investments even going so far as to offer valuations based upon comparable market values or net assets. As one of the country's largest taxpayers and employers, and with his political network firmly established, he no longer feels the need to hide behind a cloak of secrecy. Another entrepreneur from Guangzhou even went so far as to fly over three of his staff to our offices in Shanghai to explain why they were worth much more than we had previously valued them at, providing audited accounts as evidence. "If we are to be on the list, we might as well be on at the right position." There has been a revolution in China 's attitude towards wealth.

This year - the seventh since we founded the first China Rich List in 1999 - we have increased the rankings to 400 people and feature first-hand interviews with seven of the Top Ten, demonstrating that the Hurun Report is the magazine of choice for China 's richest people. we review the clubs and associations China 's richest take part in.

Making their mark internationally

China is probably the most exciting place in the world today for entrepreneurship. The speed of growth is explosive, with the Top 100 growing by 50% over the last year and the total wealth of the Hurun Report 400 now standing at US$75 billion, equivalent to 7% of China 's GDP last year. Led for the second year running by 36-year old retail tycoon Huang Guangyu, this year ' s list features seven US dollar billionaires, up from three last year.

Property may be considered an old industry in the Western world, but in China it is anything but. Making IT look boring by comparison, China 's building boom has been the key driver behind China 's explosion of wealth. It seems unthinkable that twenty years ago land had only negligible value. Prime plots of land bought even as little as five years ago have seen their values increase ten-fold. The next step is to watch for China 's experienced property developers moving overseas, such as Shimao and its forays into the Russian market.

Yan Jiehe

One of the most remarkable people I have met in the past year has been 45-year-old Yan Jiehe, who made his fortune in civil construction, winning multiple billion-dollar contracts from local governments to build highways. Virtually unknown to China 's mainstream, Yan's China Pacific Construction prides itself on 'Faster and Cheaper', getting the job done faster than its state-owned competitors and without the need for financing. "I prefer to do business in a field where few can compete against me," explains Yan.

Switzerland and Italy

With international travel fast becoming a reality for many of the well-heeled, luxury brands are focusing their attention on China 's growing rich. As part of our series of Special Reports on Super Luxury, our reporter Mica Quinn traveled this summer to Switzerland and Italy to take an in-depth look at the finer things in life in store for China 's entrepreneurs. "Evidence of the brands' awareness towards China 's new rich is everywhere," says Quinn, "with the watch and car brands particularly active."

Power and wealth - a heady combination

Finally, for the third year running we feature the Power List, a look at the ten people from the China Rich List with the greatest economic, political and social impact on China . Larry Yong, the scion of the only one hundred-year dynasty in Mainland China , comes top for the third year running.

Hurun Report's mission is to track what China 's entrepreneurs are up to.