many other Hong Kong companies to open factories in the mainland. He opened his first mainland factory in Humen, Dongguan, and gradually grew the business. Philanthropy Tin was involved in philanthropy since the 1960s and 1970s, when he served as a director of Hong Kong's three largest charities at the time: Pok Oi Hospital, Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, and . In 1982, he donated more than a billion Hong Kong dollars, which was about 80% of his wealth, to establish the Tin Ka Ping Foundation, dedicated to making donations in education, medical care, transportation, and other public facilities. In 2009, he transferred the rest of his assets into the foundation, and retired from its active management. Having been forced to quit school in his childhood, Tin dedicated much of his resources to funding education. Since the 1980s, Tin made donations to 93 universities, 166 secondary schools, 41 elementary schools, and 19 specialized schools and kindergartens. He also funded 1,800 libraries in rural schools, 29 hospitals, and 130 bridges and roads. There are schools bearing his name in every province, municipality, and autonomous region in China, and he has been honoured as the "Father of a hundred schools" (). He also sponsored schools in Taiwan, Singapore and the United States. Tin's businesses and foundation suffered massive losses during the 1997 Asian financial crisis. To help fund his foundation, in 2001 he sold his house in Kowloon Tong that he and his wife had lived in for 37 years, and rented a apartment. He donated the entire proceeds of HK$56 million to more than 20 secondary schools. It was seen as an "incredible" decision by Hong Kong media. Honours and awards Tin had received numerous honours and awards in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, and Britain, for his contributions to public welfare. He was awarded the British Empire Medal in 1982, the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in 1996, and the Grand Bauhinia Medal in 2010 by the Hong Kong government. Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui presented him a Gold Plate on Contribution to Public Welfare in 1988. He was named the "Star of Education" by the Hong Kong Loving Hearts Campaign. In 1994, the Purple Mountain Observatory named the asteroid 2886 Tinkaping after him. He was an honorary citizen of more than 80 cities and counties in China, and was awarded the honorary doctorate by more than 10