Weeks before the latest measures to cool the red-hot market, Mr. Li sold 360 hotel rooms to eager investors, even though such sales are legally murky.

WSJ: Big Players Cash Out of Hong Kong Property

Li urged us to soak our feet in hot water before bed, to fight jet lag, and to eat extra fruit, which might balance the European infusion of bread and cheese into our diets.

NEWYORKER: The Grand Tour

We followed Li into a small Chinese storefront, down a flight of stairs, and into a hot, claustrophobic hallway flanked by windowless rooms jammed with Chinese diners.

NEWYORKER: The Grand Tour