China rich list topped by property developer Wang Jianlin

Dalian Wanda founder Wang Jianlin has topped China's rich list for the first time

The founder of property developer Dalian Wanda has topped an annual ranking of China's richest people for the first time.

Wang Jianlin saw his personal fortune double to $22bn (£14bn) according to the Hurun Report, which tracks the country's wealthy.

Chinese beverage producer Zong Qinghou, who was top last year, was pushed to second place with a fortune of $18.7bn.

China's richest woman, Yang Huiyan, is ranked fifth on the list with $8.3bn.

The report said the number of Chinese worth at least $1bn has now risen to 315, compared to a decade ago when there were none.

Traditionally, China's wealthy have made their money from manufacturing. But this year, one in four of the 1,021 richest people tracked by Hurun made their fortune from real estate.

Property prices in China have risen strongly over the past few years, despite government efforts to cool the market down.

The Hurun Report's chairman and chief researcher, Rupert Hoogewerf, said: ''Strong performances in real estate and IT have driven China's richest to new records."