Comrade Zong Qinghou, founder and chairman of Wahaha Group, passed away at 10:30 that day due to ineffective treatment at the age of 79. At the end of every year, Wahaha holds a New Year's Eve dinner here, and has done so for more than 30 years.

In the early days of starting a business, Zong Qinghou rode a tricycle to deliver school books. He has said many times: "I am an ordinary person, a mortal who rose from the bottom. Fortunately, I was born in this great era"