Portrait of Zhang Yong
i. Biography
Zhang Yong received the SevenRooms Icon Award in 2026, a recognition that put a formal marker on a career built less on fanfare than on sustained, exacting work. As founder of Xin Rong Ji, a Chinese cuisine restaurant group, Zhang’s name has become tied to the patient construction of a business designed to hold together over time.
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The Climb
Xin Rong Ji was established by Zhang Yong in 1995, and that date matters: it places the work in the long view, where durability is built through repetition, discipline, and consistency. The group’s rise did not happen overnight; it emerged through years of steady accumulation, with Zhang’s role as founder shaping both the structure of the business and the standard it had to meet. Chinese cuisine sits at the center of that structure, giving the group a clear culinary identity and a fixed point around which its work has remained organized.
Today
Xin Rong Ji still carries Zhang Yong’s founding imprint. Chinese cuisine remains the stated specialty, and the continuity is the point: the same founding role, the same culinary focus, the same refusal to drift for the sake of novelty. Zhang’s connection to Xin Rong Ji reads as ongoing stewardship rather than reinvention, which is often how lasting hospitality businesses are built.
In Their Words “I wouldn’t call it a success. I believe it’s thanks to passion, perseverance, and a bit of talent that we’ve managed to keep our restaurants going.” “I wouldn't call it successful. I think it's only through passion, persistence and a bit of talent that we can keep the restaurants going.” Read together, the two versions of Zhang Yong’s words point to the same working ethic: restraint, persistence, and a refusal to inflate the result.
The emphasis stays on keeping the restaurants going, which places the work in the daily realm of maintenance, continuity, and follow-through rather than on victory or completion.
Recognition
Zhang's honors include SevenRooms Icon Award (2026).
FAQ
Asked of Zhang
What is Zhang Yong's current role?
As of 2026, Zhang Yong is Founder of Xin Rong Ji.
What recognition has Zhang Yong received?
SevenRooms Icon Award (2026).
What is Zhang Yong known for?
Chinese cuisine.
The Sunday email
Read about chefs like Zhang Yong in the Sunday email.
Every Sunday we send a lead story and up to four more about the chefs, winemakers, sommeliers and hoteliers behind the restaurants, bars, wineries and hotels we cover.
Recent stories
Free. One email a week, and you can unsubscribe from any issue.