China's 10 Most Luxurious Cities

Shanghai Tops List Of China's Top Cities, Ranked By Lavish Living Last week, the Chinese news portal JRJ posted its list of [mainland] China's "Top 10 Most Luxurious Cities," basing levels of "luxury" on living standards (presumably for those in what could generously be called the "city elite"), "internationalness," high-end retail and overall infrastructure. Perhaps unsurprisingly, in this list of ten mainland Chinese cities, Shanghai -- long China's most international city -- comes out on top. The list, as compiled by JRJ (translation by Jing Daily team): 1. Shanghai "The very worthy #1, with more luxury brands than any other city in China can come close to matching, not only does Shanghai have innumerable shopping malls and luxury retail locations, but its Bund luxury district is among the finest in the world." 2. Beijing "Coming in second for luxury brands, Beijing has also opened a great number of new high-end/luxury [boutiques], but compared to Shanghai it's not quite there yet. 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 "This year surpassing Guangzhou, [Hangzhou's] become a true third-place luxury goods city. From high fashion to leather, from furniture to cosmetics...many luxury brands have established themselves in Shanghai, Beijing, and Hangzhou...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 "Coming in at a strong #4, with its La Perle shopping mall and Friendship Mall, Guangzhou is a city that shouldn't be taken lightly. The spending power of Guangzhou locals is astounding. Because of its geographical connection, Guangzhou people have the habit of doing their luxury shopping in Hong Kong, so it's actually pretty hard to tell how the development of the home-grown Guangzhou luxury market has been influenced by this." 5. Shenzhen "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. Since Shenzhen is so close to Hong Kong, Shenzhen locals generally shop in Hong Kong, to an even greater extent than their counterparts in Guangzhou." 6. Chengdu "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, so Chengdu and Chongqing are basically the model cities for China's midwest, in terms of representative style and growth potential." 7. Chongqing 8. Qingdao "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. Hisense Plaza recently opened up, attracting the attention of many [in the luxury industry]." 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. However, although Xi'an has two large high-end shopping malls (Zhongda and Century Ginwa), sales figures in respect to national figures have been unimpressive, putting Xi'an behind Chengdu and Chongqing in terms of progress and development." 10. Dalian "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."

China's 10 Most Luxurious Cities

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Published May 11, 2010

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China's 10 Most Luxurious Cities