In an attempt to save their marriage Han borrowed $50,000 from her parents for a shipment of products from Shanghai, but her husband had no interest in selling them.

Eventually all the money had been spent and the marriage was finished. Han was left lonely and feeling trapped with two young children to support, and turned to a bottle of sleeping pills in an attempt to end her life.

"Three days later I woke up in a hospital," she says. "When I saw my two sons waiting for me with the sense of fear in their eyes, I realized that I couldn't die because I am responsible for them."

After her divorce, life was still tough. She set up a booth at factory gates often in dangerous areas where she was bullied by other Chinese vendors and suffered from terrible sunburn.

A loaf of bread would feed her for a week, but sometimes she didn't even have that.

"As long as I could make money, I would work from dawn to dusk, regardless of the situation," she says.

Those were hard times, but they didn't last. While most Chinese businesspeople operating in South Africa were importing small commodities, Han began to sell Chinese-made scarves and handbags, using her sense of fashion to pick popular styles.

"Mine was the first shop selling scarves and because I was the only retailer for the products and my business was very good," she says.

Han spent hours trailing through Johannesburg's shopping malls checking out the latest luxury brands so she could stay ahead of the fashion curve.

"What the new models were and what the trend was, I kept that all in mind so I would know what direction I should take the business," she says.

Three years later she opened her own store, which she called Gutsy, a reference to her own bravery in the face of enormous personal challenges.

It was designed from the start to develop into a chain store, with an experienced local manager, closed circuit television to prevent thieves and the latest cash registry technology.

"I spent a lot of money to start up the store and fortunately the whole city soon knew about my brand. They accepted it like other high-end local brands," she says.

That was the beginning of a business empire, but Han has never forgotten the hard times she faced and that's made her compassionate towards others in need.

"I believe helping others makes life meaningful," she says. "Only when you've gone through hardship do you know the meaning of helping others."