From the construction site to the world stage! Chang Lily becomes the first Chinese female president of FIABCI the International Real Estate Federation

▲Treasure Dragon Construction president Chang Lily will assume the president of the FIABCI International Real Estate Federation, becoming the first Chinese woman to serve as president in the organization's 75-year history. (Photo/Pan Chong-an)

 

Chang Lily, who is about to become the president of the World Federation of Real Estate Developers, has gone from a residential construction site in Taichung to the international stage. She does not pursue scale and speed, but rather focuses on quality and lifestyle, forging a business style that is different from most developers.

 

At the end of November, Chang Lily, president of Treasure Dragon Construction, had just returned to Taiwan from Kurobe City, Toyama Prefecture, Japan. During that trip, she visited the headquarters of YKK AP building materials and passive town concepts, focusing not only on energy-saving technologies but also on how buildings can coexist with life, communities, and future generations. The day after returning to Taiwan, she immediately departed for Panama to attend the Global Leaders Summit in her capacity as Vice President of the Federation of Real Estate Associations International (FIABCI).

 

From 2026 to 2027, she will serve as the President of the the FIABCI International Real Estate Federation, becoming the first Chinese woman to serve as president in the organization's 75-year history, and the second Taiwanese president after Yin Zhihao, the founder of Continental Engineering Corporation. Headquartered in Paris, France, the World Federation of Real Estate is one of the world's most important professional real estate organizations, spanning developers, architects, valuers, brokers, and policymakers, and has long served as an international real estate exchange platform.

 

Non-stop work is almost the norm for 71-year-old Chang Lily; having more than five events a day is not unusual for her. Even this interview and photo shoot was difficult to arrange. It was finally scheduled for 9:00 a.m., and at 10:00 a.m. she had to rush to the Taichung Architectural Culture and Education Foundation to give a speech, followed by a speech for the Malaysian real estate industry delegation; in the afternoon, she went to Tunghai University to teach, and in the evening, as the chairperson of the Taichung "Teacher Chang" Center, she participated in the awarding of certificates and commendations. In the evening, she also had to perform on stage at the concert "Those Years Our Songs" which cares for elderly people living alone.

 

▲At the the FIABCI International Real Estate Federation Annual Meeting held in Singapore in 2024, Chang Lily (front row, center) posed for a group photo with the Taiwan delegation after being elected Vice President. (Photo/Provided by Chang Lily)

 

The fearless female architect

 

According to Lin Chang-hsun, former chairman of the Real Estate Association of the Republic of China and president of the Chien Chieh Group, Chang Lily is "enthusiastic, sunny, and very thorough in her work." She always goes to great lengths to prepare Taiwanese souvenirs for her trips abroad for meetings, and is extremely popular. Lin Chang-hsun also specifically mentioned that Chang Lily was a key figure behind the successful hosting of an important event by the World Federation of Real Estate Associations in Taichung. Furthermore, at the board meeting following the 2017 World Federation of Real Estate Associations General Meeting, she proposed a motion to successfully change the branch's name from "FIABCI-Chinese Taiwan" to "FIABCI-Taiwan." That action, while not without pressure within the organization, clearly expressed Taiwan's stance.

 

Productivity Construction Group General Manager Chang Fang-min stated that Chang Lily has long been involved in the affairs of real estate associations and has also been deeply involved in public issues. More than 20 years ago, when Chang Lily served as a director and supervisor of the Taichung City Real Estate Development Association, she actively promoted the establishment of the first Education Promotion Committee in the construction industry in Taiwan, which laid many foundations for the Taichung construction industry that are still in use today.

 

Before entering the real estate industry, Chang Lily was a housewife. After getting married, she moved to Boston, USA with her husband's family. Because her husband had been investing in real estate for a long time, she began to pay attention to market trends and helped her husband manage rental affairs. In order to gain a deeper understanding of space and living needs, she also studied interior design courses and obtained professional certification.

 

About 40 years ago, the couple returned to Taiwan and settled in Taichung. In the early days after their return, she occasionally took on interior design work. She gradually realized that the planning and quality of most residences on the market at that time still fell short of her expectations for living. This experience became the starting point for her to start her own business, and in 1989 she founded Treasure Dragon Construction.

 

Because Zhang Lily didn't have a formal architectural background, she had to learn everything from scratch, participating in almost the entire process from design and planning to on-site construction. Her high standards for quality made her famously strict on construction sites. For one project, due to the unique shape and high difficulty of the exterior wall tiles, she was still uneasy and personally climbed the scaffolding to inspect the work, ultimately demanding its removal and re-tiling. This approach made Longbao known among contractors as "demanding and difficult to work with," but it also gradually established a high standard for construction quality.

 

Wu Chun-shan, chairman of Li-ming Construction, is not only a major construction company in Taichung but also a resident of Longbao Construction. Wu Chun-shan said that Chang Lily often asked the design team to make repeated adjustments, and even during the construction phase, she would spend more time on the user experience. "Sometimes people would think, why is she so fussy? But after living there for a while, they would realize that those details really make a difference."

 

Over the years, Longbao has experimented with various approaches in Taichung's construction industry. For example, they transformed excavated pebbles into iron-sculpted street benches to provide rest for pedestrians; they introduced murals into the walls of the underground parking garage, adding warmth to the otherwise enclosed space; and they planned storage cabinets behind each parking space, allowing residents to store large items such as golf clubs. These designs are not for the sake of form, but rather respond to practical usage scenarios, becoming recurring details in Longbao's residences.

 

▲ Chang Lily (third from right) attended the 2022 FIABCI World Congress in Paris, France, in her capacity as Chair of the Developers and Investors Council. (Photo/Provided by Chang Lily)

 

Homeowners who cultivate community vegetable gardens

 

In terms of products and construction methods, Treasure Dragon has also set many precedents, including planning rooftop clothes-drying spaces and setting up community vegetable gardens. During construction, green hedges were introduced to reduce the disturbance of the construction site to the neighbors, and demonstration sites were promoted for observation, thus investing in the overall community development at an early stage.

 

In addition, Treasure Dragon pioneered the use of hotels to hold construction and handover briefings, publishes community publications such as "Life View" and "Fresh News of the Residence", and holds family sports meets and concerts from time to time. During holidays, they also interact with residents in a practical way, and even give them cakes or pig's feet noodles on their birthdays.

 

This atmosphere is also reflected in Chang Lily's daily personality. Zhang Fang-min, who accompanied her on the trip to Japan, observed that Chang Lily has quite diverse interests, especially in art. She gave her companions a lightweight handbag printed with a hand-drawn image of a little girl saying "Happy Together." Zhang Fangmin said that this gift was both practical and conveyed her consistent warmth, leaving a deep impression on her companions.

 

Chang Lily often says that Longbao doesn't pursue the largest scale, but rather hopes to "complete each case well." This may seem unpopular in an era of rapid market turnover, but it has also built a group of long-term supporters.

 

Speaking about the future of Treasure Dragon Construction, Chang Lily pointed out that they are working on building the company headquarters in the Shuinan Economic and Trade Park as a commemoration of Treasure Dragon's 40th anniversary.

 

In many people's eyes, Chang Lily is a chivalrous woman. Soon to assume the position of President of the World Federation of Real Estate Associations, her schedule will only become busier; however, she calmly says, "I will continue to do what I've always been doing, building houses and fulfilling my responsibilities."

 

Profile: Chang Lily Born : 1954 Current Position : president of Treasure Dragon Construction , Vice President of the the FIABCI International Real Estate Federation, Chairperson of FIABCI Taiwan Chapter and the Republic of China Real Estate Association Experience: Chairperson of Taichung City Real Estate Development Association, Chairperson of Taiwan Association for the Development of Arts for People with Disabilities, Director of Taiwan Association for Architectural Aesthetics, Culture and Economic Development Education: Department of Business Administration, Ming Chuan University; Department of Business Administration, University of Massachusetts Lowell

(Original magazine title: WFRA's First Female Chinese President: Chang Lily Goes from the FIABCI International Real Estate Federation, Speaking Out for Taiwan)