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Shen Hongping, owner of the Liangtoumen bun shop in Shengzhou, is honored as one of Zhejiang's outstanding contributors to the province's development. [Photo/Tide News]

Shen Hongping, owner of the Liangtoumen bun shop in Shengzhou, Shaoxing of East China's Zhejiang province, was honored as one of Zhejiang's outstanding contributors to the province's development on Nov 13. 

The provincial honor is among the highest recognitions for contributors to the private economy.

Standing alongside well-known business leaders such as Feng Ji, CEO of the studio behind Black Myth: Wukong, Shen drew attention as a representative of small local businesses. Since its launch in 2018, the award has been held three times, with leading Zhejiang entrepreneurs like Alibaba founder Jack Ma among its past recipients.

Shen started her business 15 years ago with a roadside stall. With skill in making traditional xiaolongbao (soup dumplings), she repaid more than 400,000 yuan ($56,260) in family debt and built Liangtoumen's Champion Xiaolongbao into a widely recognised local brand.

Since 2014, Shen has brought steamers and ingredients to eldercare homes and welfare institutions to make fresh buns on site. At first, she delivered them by herself, but later brought her parents and daughter along. In 2018, she launched a volunteer team with 268 members under the Liangtoumen name, offering free steamed buns to dozens of eldercare homes, more than 10 thousand elderly residents living alone, and over 20 thousand students. More than 1 million buns have been donated over the past decade.

Shen has also trained more than 800 rural women free of charge in xiaolongbao making, helping them open shops across the country. By promoting both shop operations and frozen bun production, she has supported the growth of a large-scale local industry that now produces nearly 10 million frozen buns per day.

Her recognition reflects Zhejiang's deep roots in individual businesses, as the province issued China's very first business license for individual operations. As of mid-year, Zhejiang was home to 7.13 million individual businesses, accounting for 64.76 percent of all market entities — roughly one for every 10 residents. These micro-entrepreneurs form the foundation of Zhejiang's private economy and serve as a cradle for future private firms.

Volunteers from the Liangtoumen service team prepare free xiaolongbao for elderly residents and students in Shaoxing. [Photo/Tide News]