page_title: Shen Wansan
section_title: How Shen made a fortune
hierarchical_section_title: Shen Wansan / How Shen made a fortune
caption_attribution_description: Xuanwu Lake in Nanjing, China, with willows on its bank
context_page_description: Shen Wansan was a businessman during the beginning of Ming Dynasty.
context_section_description: He started his career with farming in Zhouzhuang. Zhouzhuang has the warm climate and easy irrigation which is suitable for farming. Shen followed his father to here and made money through agriculture. "Shen liked buying land and houses to grow wealth." There was a rich man called Lu Deyuan in Suzhou. He appreciated the talents of Shen and trusted him. He passed large amounts of money to Shen. With the help of Lu, Shen had more ability to create more money. "Shen Wansan has the fortune passed by a man named Lu, who was one of the richest men in this area." Shen developed the farming, as well as silk and tea business. As water transport was quite convenient in Zhouzhuang, he exported tea, silk, china and food and imported jewels, ivory items, and spices. In this way, he accumulated great wealth. The story goes that Shen had a treasure trove  so great that it could not be counted. He helped to build the walls of Nanjing and other facilities with this limitless money. It is said that the very large Xuanwu Lake formed his rear garden.
caption: Xuanwu lake.
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