Qun Li Egle hails from Qingdao in China’s Shandong province.  Qun grew up in a family of traditional Chinese artists and bankers dating back to the late Qing dynasty. It is therefore not surprising that by the age of ten she had completed her first Chinese painting and in the process developed a deep passion for this traditional Chinese art.      
In 1990 Qun moved to Beijing where she studied fashion design at the University of Beijing.  During her studies Qun had not only made many friends but also valuable contacts in Beijing’s fashion industry. One common challenge in Beijing at the time was the lack of fashionable or lifestyle venues for young professionals to gather and socialize. Qun recognized and seized the opportunity to create something completely new. In 1996 she decided to combine her passion for Chinese art and her background in fashion design to open what would become one of Beijing leading life style venues, the ‘Show Plaza’.  
Building on the success of Show Plaza, Qun soon opened her second venue, the ‘Quintero Cigar Lounge’ in 2001. The lounge was located in the newly opened shopping mall at the Kerry Center Hotel, home to various high end fashion stores.  
‘Quintero’ in its design clearly reflected Qun’s deep passion for the contemporary on one hand and her background in traditional Chinese art on the other. Key features of the lounge were its ultra high ceiling and the large built-in humidor containing over sixty individual compartments which were reserved exclusively for members of the Quintero Cigar Club. 
Quintero received two awards for its interior design and soothing atmosphere created by several long, floor-to-ceiling draperies separating various comfortable sofa lounge corners. The real talking point however was a small traditional Buddhist shrine in this otherwise very contemporary setting.  
Qun Li and Rene Egle met in 2001 in Beijing. Rene was the food and beverage director at the Kempinski Hotel Beijing Lufthansa Center. In this capacity he had created ‘Salsa Cabana’ the first Latin American bar & restaurant in Beijing.  The venue was a success from the start.  One of Salsa Cabanas key features was a private cigar room with a large built-in humidor. The cigar room soon became Qun’s favorite venue which is where Rene and Qun eventually met.   
Rene has worked in the hospitality industry for over 20 years. Born in southern Germany he completed hotel school and training in Germany after which he worked in England, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia and Dubai. He also served two years in the German Navy and two more on a cruise liner traveling the world. Rene has a passion for history, antique sidecar motorbikes and adventures. Amongst several adventurous journeys he traveled by motor bike (replicas of the 1935 BMW-R71) from England to Germany in 2003 and from Beijing to Berlin in 2004.  A book about this epic journey was published by Bruckmann, Germany and the STERN Magazine.

His passion for history drove him to write his first novel ‘U-1706’ which was published by Llumina Press in Florida in July 2007.  

In 2003 Rene was offered a career opportunity in Jakarta, Indonesia and the couple decided to make this step together and with a heavy heart Qun sold her lucrative cigar lounge in the same year.  Rene and Qun married in May 2006 and moved to Dubai where they are still based at present.  

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