Sp.02 | A Conversation with Master Dong: The Untold Stories Behind 20 Years of Chinese Venture Capital

February 22, 2026

Happy New Year, listeners of "elsewhere"!

Today we're bringing you a special episode. Late last year, I sat down with Dong Lihan — better known as Master Dong — editor-in-chief of ChinaVenture (投中网). The occasion was a book he and his editorial team had just published: a Chinese counterpart to Power Law, titled A History of Venture Capital in China.

The book chronicles two decades of China's VC industry in all its swagger and strategic brilliance — the "heroic bearing and feather-fan command" of its prime.

As a fellow traveler in this space, I'd long been curious how Dong would characterize the investment world beyond his articles. We ended up discussing many renowned venture capitalists, their temperaments, and why they built their firms the way they did: Neil Shen, Allen Zhu, David Zhang, Thomas Ng, Peter Kwang, and others.

Many of his observations were unmistakably Dong's.

In a previous "elsewhere" conversation with Yuan Liu of ZhenFund, Liu joked that we were all "people who stumbled into this industry." That description seems to fit Master Dong even better.

So let's hear how Dong sharply assesses China's VC industry!

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year again — may each year bring more joy than the last!

🎙️ Voices Dong Lihan | Editor-in-Chief, ChinaVenture Jing Liu | elsewhere

📀 BGM Anchorless Ship - The Fin.

⏱️ Timestamps

Part 1: A History of Venture Capital in China 00:05:56 Starting with the new book 00:13:09 Eras reward those with the right attributes 00:19:51 Interview subjects: talking to whoever was available 00:30:43 Chapter One begins with values

Part 2: Stories of the Giants 00:34:10 The VCs most vividly portrayed: still Lei Zhang and Neil Shen 00:38:03 Allen Zhu and David Zhang: rebellion and internet instincts 00:41:02 The singular Thomas Ng and the egalitarian Peter Kwang 00:46:09 The investors when Master Dong entered the industry

Part 3: Investor Journalism 00:49:52 Why a genre called "investor reporting" exists in the world 00:55:56 The hardest thing in this business is winning people over — that was exactly Bao Fan 00:56:38 Coming to Sequoia, seeing a bit more clearly 01:02:34 The assigned topic essays on Hillhouse 01:06:55 Some casual chat: socializing, Dou Wentao, ChinaVenture's content, the AI industry

🧩 Team Producer: Guo Yunxiao Filming & Production: Podcast Commune | OPS Podcast Studio Planning / Director: Lao Yuan Project Manager: Village Chief (Liu Chaofan) Director of Photography: Liu Yan Video Production: Liu Yan Audio Production: Tutu Visual Design: Wing (Chaosheng Zhi) Lighting Design: Zang Zunzhuang Team Venue Support: alahouse