Week In Review: November 28 - December 2

Jing Daily’s Top Posts for the Week In case you missed them the first time around, here are some of Jing Daily’s top posts for the week of November 28 - December 2: Playwright David Henry Hwang Talks “Chinglish” At China Institute In New York This week, Jing Daily attended a conversation with Tony award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang at New York’s China Institute, during which Hwang discussed his new play “Chinglish” along with director Leigh Silverman and the China Institute’s Agnes Hsu. Debuted this summer at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre, and currently running on Broadway, “Chinglish” tells the story of a businessman from Middle America attempting to close a deal in China, despite having never visited the country and speaking no Chinese. But beyond the comedic aspects of the businessman’s disorienting experience in China and struggle to adapt to and navigate a business culture wholly unlike his own, “Chinglish” is, at its essence, about language and communication. Chinese Collector Nearly Buys Up Entire Wine Auction In Paris China’s new generation of wine enthusiasts are becoming a common sight in France, whether they’re bidding for lots at auction in Paris or buying up châteaux in the countryside. At an auction earlier today, one Chinese collector stole the show by driving prices through the roof with theatrical zeal. Held by the auction house Cornette de Saint Cyr, today’s sale of 1,000 bottles from the collection of the French film and stage actor Alain Delon ultimately pulled in more than 250,000 euros (US$333,800), well over the pre-sale estimate of 100,000 euros, with the Shenzhen-based media businessman Dong Guo acquiring 70 lots, nearly the entire action. While we can’t say whether Dong Guo’s enthusiasm was partly fed by fandom, the fact that many bottles had Alain Delon cellar-signs and have clear provenance is a hallmark of Chinese auction buyers. Given these aspects, and the fact that the bottles ostensibly hadn’t traveled that far since being initially purchased by Delon, it’s not surprising that Guo’s bidding led to “crazy” prices — we see that in Hong Kong at nearly every wine auction. Versace For H&M Sees Chinese Shoppers Packing Stores…To Make Returns Following the release of the highly anticipated Versace for H&M collection in China on Thursday, November 17, Chinese media reports this week that the enthusiasm that initially met the collaboration has been replaced by high return and exchange rates at stores in Beijing, Hangzhou and Shanghai. As in cities like New York, where Madison Avenue Spy clocked “more than a small bin of returns” today, it appears shoppers at the debut of the collection all had a “buy now, return later” strategy. But as Chinese news sites and blogs observe this week, there’s a bit more to it in China than simple buyer’s remorse. Previous H&M designer collaborations have been uniformly successful, with throngs of shoppers more than eager to wait in line for hours (or overnight), and have generally created reliable storms of publicity for the Swedish mass-market retailer. Is Hainan’s Hotel Boom Making It “China’s Hawaii” Or Its Orlando? Over the past five years, China has been in the midst of a hotel-building boom that has seen the number of hotels throughout the country jump 62 percent. But despite the country’s vast population and growing demand from business travelers, a recent study by the consulting and research group STR Global found that China’s hotel occupancy rate is the lowest among 15 Asian countries, sitting at just 61 percent for the first nine months of 2011. Too heavily weighted towards four- and five-star hotels or high-priced international brands in some cities, China clearly remains a difficult hotel market despite the bullishness (and continued construction) of the world’s largest chains. According to Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, by 2013 the number of hotels in China should rise another 52 percent. But despite the difficulties faced by hoteliers in mainland China, how has China’s hotel surge manifested on the southern province of Hainan? Following Lead Of Louis Vuitton & Burberry, Starwood Links Up With Jiepang Though enthusiasm for Jiepang — generally referred to as “China’s Foursquare” — has died down a bit from this spring, hoteliers Starwood Hotels & Resorts this week announced a new link-up with the location-based social network, following the lead of brands like Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Nike and Starbucks. Owner and operator of such hotel brands as St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Westin, Le Meridien and others, Starwood, like other major hoteliers, has made a massive expansion push into the China market in recent years, with CEO Frits D. Van Paasschen recently saying that China may eventually pass the U.S. as its biggest hotel market. With its new partnership with Jiepang, Starwood looks to extend its Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) loyalty program into the digital realm specifically for Chinese travelers.

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Week In Review: November 28 - December 2