•  Dong Mingzhu (R), Chairman of the Board of Gree Electric Appliances Inc. of Zhuhai, and Yuan Baocheng, the former mayor of Dongguan city and newly appointed vice governor of Guangdong Province.

Dong Mingzhu (R), Chairman of the Board of Gree Electric Appliances Inc. of Zhuhai, and Yuan Baocheng, the former mayor of Dongguan city and newly appointed vice governor of Guangdong Province. (Photo : Getty Images)

Gree Electric president Dong Mingzhu has proven once again that she is indeed one of the "toughest" entrepreneurs in the country as she headlines Forbes China's Top 100 Businesswomen ranking this year.

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Dong, 63, has been an iconic figure in China's business scene, transforming Gree Electric into one of the largest air-conditioner companies in the world.

Meanwhile, Huawei chairman Sun Yafang and Alibaba Group's executive chair Lucy Peng came in at second and third spots, respectively.

Carrying the banner for the property industry is Yang Huiyan, vice-chairman of Country Garden Holdings and Song Guangju, chairman of Poly Real Estate Group.

Great Wall Motor's vice chairman Wang Fengying and Longfor Properties chairman Wu Yajun occupy the sixth and seventh slots, respectively.

Another representative of the tech industry is Huawei's chief financial officer Sabrina Meng who landed on the 8th spot. Liu Chang, head of New Hope Liuhe and Zhou Qunfei, chairman of Lens Technology, scored the 9th and 10th positions, respectively.

Released annually, the Forbes China's Top 100 Businesswomen list includes billionaires and multinational big bosses hailing from real estate to tech industries. The ranking takes into consideration several factors in choosing the personalities, including the number of employees, profit, revenue, market capitalization, assets and web popularity.

The ranking is also featured in the January-February issue of Forbes China, with Ctrip CEO and director Jane Sun on the cover. Sun, who was in the 15th spot, shared her company's growth objectives, as well as plans of expanding locally and overseas. She also explained Ctrip's efforts to counter China's aging problem.

Zhou Junqing, chairman of China Resources Power Holdings, Zong Fuli, general manager at Hongsheng Beverage, and Du Juan, owner of Wan Sheng Yuan Asset Management, complete the top 15.

Check out Forbes Asia for a complete list of the Top 100 Businesswomen in China.