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China's Ten Most Luxurious Cities As Good Place To Start.

By Dan Harris and Steve Dickinson

Jing Daily did a post today listing and very briefly describing China's top ten cities, "ranked by lavish living." This list comes from the Chinese news portal, JRJ and is based on "luxury," "internationalness," high-end retail and overall infrastructure, whatever those things mean. Ignoring for a moment the vagueness of the measures on which this list is based, it actually nicely sets out ten China cities Western businesses ought to be considering as markets for their their goods in China. Here's the top ten, with my brief commentary and then a quote from Jing Daily: 1. Shanghai. No surprise. "Its Bund luxury district is among the finest in the world." 2. Beijing. No surprise. "Many of the brands that have set up shop in Shanghai haven't made it to Beijing yet, but that doesn't influence Beijing's standing as a top-tier city." 3. Hangzhou. A bit of a surprise over Shenzhen. "Hangzhou's Lakeside International Famous Brand Street, one of the city's high-end districts, is the most developed in the country, integrating a high-end business concept modeled after Milan's Via Monte Napoleone shopping district." 4. Guangzhou. Okay. "With its La Perle shopping mall and Friendship Mall, Guangzhou is a city that shouldn't be taken lightly." 5. Shenzhen. Makes sense. "Shenzhen's got tons of luxury brands, albeit fewer than Guangzhou, but in terms of luxury furniture [sales] Shenzhen -- along with Beijing and Hangzhou -- is in the top three." 6. Chengdu. Up and coming. "Chengdu and Chongqing are on equal footing as west China's high-end fashion superstars. Many famous luxury brands have established these two cities as their key midwest markets." 7. Chongqing. Up and coming. 8. Qingdao. Definitely on an upswing and as a long time fan of the place, I was happy to see it make the list. "Qingdao's luxury market has developed quickly in recent years, leading many high-end car dealerships and luxury brand boutiques to pop up. Qingdao now plays the role of fashion leader in Shandong province." 9. Xi'an. "Xi'an Zhongda International is among the best shopping malls in the country, and in recent years the development of Xi'an's luxury market has been remarkable." 10. Dalian. Nice place, but I have never thought of it as terribly upscale. "Dalian has a Century City [shopping mall], where many international brands have set up shop. Although Dalian is a second-tier city, and doesn't have many of the same stores that have opened up in Qingdao, it's got one ace in the hole: A Hermes boutique." What do you think?

Full post as published by China Law Blog on May 12, 2010 (boomark / email).