Listen to “Dream Catchers, A Story of New York, John Lam and Virgin Hotel” on Spreaker.
The most famous city in the world is undoubtedly New York. In Central Park in Manhattan, plants and birds coexist harmoniously with humans, making it a happy living place. Surrounding the park, in thousands of buildings, reside world-renowned celebrities, Hollywood stars, CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, and new wealthy elites from China. Despite their different languages and skin colors, they share their space politely and graciously. Next to Central Park is a mile-long avenue known as “Museum Mile,” home to countless genuine artifacts from the Metropolitan to the Guggenheim, including treasures looted from China by the Eight-Nation Alliance.
New York boasts many famous avenues and streets. World-famous brand stores like LV, Chanel, and Estée Lauder are neighbors on Fifth Avenue, and many others extending to the 42nd Street and intersecting with Broadway, the birthplace of stunning musicals and home to shows such as The Lion King, Aladdin, Cats, Marry Poppins and many more. Time Square is called the crossroads of the world, bustling 24/7 with tourists capturing every moment on their iPhones. At this global crossroads stands the giant Nasdaq screen, showcasing ticker symbols of at least 350 Chinese listed companies, telling the world about their dreams from China.
Broadway is where dreams take place. The buildings around Broadway have been telling many dreams, one of which is a Chinese brand – The Haier Group. For the past 20 years, the story has continued.
In the early 1980s, at the start of China’s reform and opening-up, Haier Group, which imported a German technology from a German company called Liebour Haier. The German company insisted that the backward poor Chinese electronics in Qingdao must carry their names or at least one word/ Liebour or Haier. The Chinese company chose the later for the namesake of an ocean – “hai er “ sounds in Chinese like ocean. The company soon grew into a giant conglomerate and became China’s top brand manufacturing high quality refrigerators.In 2002, Haier took a bold step and as the first Chinese company going global and ventured into the US. They established its presence at 1356 Broadway – The Haier Building. Despite various challenges, including the fluctuating US-China relations, Haier Group has remained steadfast. People need to eat, and food needs to stay fresh, making a good refrigerator is essential. The era of eating spoiled food and drinking dirty water should never return. In the upcoming era of AI robots coexisting with humans, having a comfortable, jointly created US-China smart kitchen at home and enjoying fresh, varied, healthy meals from an open kitchen is something to look forward to, isn’t it?
Walking a few blocks down Broadway brings you to 1227 Broadway. There stands the Virgin Hotel, built by John Lam in collaboration with Richard Branson, chairman of Rolling Stone Entertainment Magazine and one of the world’s three private spaceship manufacturers alongside Elon Musk and Jeffery Bezos. Yes, the renowned Virgin Hotel is located at 1227 Broadway, New York, NY 10001 and Branson’s partner is a Chinese individual on New York soil, you didn’t read it wrong or hear it wrong.
The name Virgin signifies unexplored territory, symbolizing bold exploration and adventure. Even after Branson’s Virgin spacecraft crashed into eight pieces while returning from the moon, he stood smiling beside it, undeterred in his space suit. Mortality is inevitable, and business innovation might fail, but for whom do we live and die?
Virgin Airlines, Virgin Cruise, Virgin Hotel – Branson designed these for the future generation capable of making history. Without these visionary and skilled individuals, we wouldn’t be enjoying the benefits of AI today from the comfort of our homes. Branson aims to create a hotel where these elite genius can quietly and undisturbed explore the future world, the mysteries of the universe, and extraterrestrial life. After their tireless efforts for our comfort, they need a place to rest in a modern and an innovative hotel for the future. This hotel must be neighbors with companies like Open AI, Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and IBM. The remarkable achievements from these technology companies and research institutes, from laboratories to markets, are not accomplished overnight. Such extraordinary technological projects and engineering studies, benefiting humanity, require an exceptional group of young talents. Without them, today’s booming US stock market might lose its vitality and competitiveness, wouldn’t it?
Branson, flying his Virgin plane (not spacecraft) over New York for ten years, sought a partner to create a future-leading, world-class hotel. Amidst New York’s lush trees and blooming flowers, he found his partner in John Lam ( or Lin Jianzhong in Chinese), who came from Hong Kong and mainland China 60 years ago. Over 50 years, Lam has become the hotel king of Manhattan. His Lam Group is renowned throughout New York and the Chinese community worldwide.
Who is John Lam? How did he achieve his success? Does he share any Chinese genes with the people who inhabit in the Haier Building? If Haier refrigerators tell the story of China’s 1 billion people rising from poverty, what story does Lam Group want to tell? If the century-old trees in Central Park dream of seeing the future world, perhaps a city’s dream is to become that one – a future city itself. The people of New York might dream of the same dream like John Lam, making their city even more beautiful and attractive. Every green leaf, every sidewalk brick, every steel plate, and every piece of spacious glass walls and windows tell the same story of dream catchers – the iron will and gentle romance combine into one , moment by moment, piece by piece.
John Lam accepted this challenge bestowed on him. He turned Branson’s dream into reality in New York City on Broadway, echoing that of Haier Group on 1356 Broadway, New York, NY 10001.
Chapter One
The first invention by John Lam: New York’s Hotel Sky Garden & Hotel Sky Lobby
for more stories, check out these links…
https://goodnewsplanet.com/john-lam-self-made-man-and-sucess-story-for-business-and-family/
https://goodnewsplanet.com/virgin-hotel-new-york-grand-opening-celebration/
