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 October 10-14.
A Visit To France’s Loire Valley
(Part One / Two / Three)
Much has been written about China’s new penchant for wine, most of it focusing on the preference for French wine in general and, more specifically, demand for high-end Bordeaux and Burgundy among well-heeled Chinese. But what about lesser-known wine-growing regions? How has growing consumption in China changed the way they do business? Last week, to take a look at the way Chinese demand is reshaping the way French winemakers from large to small are doing business, Jing Daily made a trip to the country’s Loire Valley.
Known as the “Garden of France” due to its many farms, wineries and orchards, this 800 square kilometer (310 sq mile) region in the center of the country may not have the name recognition of Bordeaux, Champagne or Burgundy, but if its winemakers have anything to say about it, bottles of Loire Valley Muscadet, Sancerre and Crémant may find their way to more tables and collections in China in coming years.
Naihan Li, Star Designer Of First Beijing Design Week
One of the standout designers who caught our eye at the inaugural Beijing Design Week, which closed last week, was Harbin native Jingjing Naihan Li. Based in Beijing since the mid-1980s, apart from a stint in the UK, Li — co-founder of the arts consultancy Bao Atelier — is one of the few contemporary Chinese designers currently specializing in furniture. With a personal and professional fixation on the transience one sees in a city like Beijing, where migrant workers flock in the millions each year, Li’s latest collection, “Crates,” re-imagines furniture as not simply functional, but modular and mobile.
Showcased during Design Week at No. 8 Dawailangying Hutong in the Dashilar Design Hop district, Li’s “Crates” series very much echoes the look and feel of the “pop-up” shop, with outwardly mundane wooden shipping crates unfolding to reveal everything from couches to foosball tables.
“Culture Chanel” Exhibition To Hit Beijing’s National Museum In November
Following its successful run at Shanghai’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA) earlier this year, the brand-exalting “Culture Chanel” exhibition will hit the National Museum of China in Beijing from November 5th to December 13. As in Shanghai, the exhibition will include more than 400 pieces from Chanel’s past and present, including paintings, drawings, photographs, films, sculptures, manuscripts, apparel, perfume and jewelry, culled from public and private collections.
Curated by Jean-Louis Froment, a well-known figure in the worlds of contemporary art and design, Culture Chanel is divided up into five primary themes: Origin, Abstraction, Invisibility, Liberty and Imaginary, which blend together seamlessly as visitors wind through the exhibition.
Zeng Fanzhi: “China’s Millionaire Artist” (Video)
This week, CNN interviews Zeng Fanzhi, arguably China’s top living contemporary artist. Coming off strong spring and autumn auction seasons in 2011, and with his “Mask Series 1998 No.26″ selling for US$2.6 million at the recent Ullens auction at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, Zeng’s draw among international and new Chinese collectors alike has been confirmed. Even with mainland Chinese collectors becoming more discriminating and increasingly passing up mid-range works at recent auctions, Zeng, perhaps China’s most sought-after blue-chip artist save for Zhang Xiaogang, has remained virtually unscathed.
As a recognized blue-chip artist — championed internationally by the likes of Francois Pinault and domestically by super-collectors like Liu Yiqian — Zeng is often the first choice for new collectors looking for more reliable investments.
Beijing Still Dragging Feet On Luxury Tax Reform
With high luxury taxes making everything from imported clothing to electronics around 45 percent more expensive in mainland China than in Hong Kong and 51 percent higher than in the U.S., public support for tax reform remains high. Still, according to analysts cited by China Daily this week, part of the reason Beijing continues to drag its feet comes down to sheer bureaucratic inefficiency. While the Ministry of Commerce strongly supports tariff cuts to spur more Chinese consumers to shop domestically rather than jetting off to Hong Kong, New York or Paris for their luxury shopping sprees, the Ministry of Finance opposes the cuts. And in typically opaque fashion, the latest details announced by Shen Danyang, spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, were that “it’s unclear whether the two ministries have reached a consensus.”
Meanwhile, according to the China Tourism Academy, an estimated 2.2 million Chinese traveled overseas during the recent Golden Week holiday and spent around US$2.1 billion, much of it going to luxury retailers in cities like Hong Kong and Seoul.