Life: Beijing's Starbucks, Malls, Real Estate, Kempinski, and Breast Enhancements

Posted by admin on Feb 24, 2010 in Life | 0 comments

Having spent about a week in Beijing now I have come to like this city a lot. A thing that I have become increasingly aware of is that wherever I go it always feels good to have things that remind you of home or the things that you enjoy at home.

I am a huge coffee-lover and I enjoy my espresso wherever I can. I am not necessarily a huge fan of the chain but I want to thank Starbucks for “conquering” this country with its stores. Whether to fight jet lag or just to give you this boost in the morning Starbucks has never let me down. The quality is good and the complementary Wi-Fi lets me stay in touch with the world. It feels like walking into the Embassy…

Beijing Shopping Malls

Looking at all the other stores here I can also understand how Starbucks could grow this quickly here in China. Walking into an average upscale mall in Beijing will mostly yield the same result; You will be able to find anything from super upscale like Hermes, Burberry, Gucci, Prada, to more mainstream things like H&M, Jack Jones, Zara, etc. Interestingly the domestic brands seem to strongly orient themselves on the “Western” brands but without looking like cheap imitations. There are some very interesting clothing stores that are (apparently) Chinese but could actually also work in Europe. The “new” Chinese consumer seems to enjoy spending his money on these consumer products. Another indicator is the sheer size of the cosmetics departments in malls.

Housing and Construction

The developments here in Beijing reminded me of the things I saw in Brazil in 2008. I bet a lot has changed there as well since then. In Brazil it seemed that the first money people made went to consumer products, plastic surgery, cars, and apartments. 30-year-old women wearing braces was nothing rare or looked down upon. Pretty much all advertisement on TV was about cars, and most billboards in town were advertising newly built apartment complexes. The same can be found here. There are new apartment complexes everywhere and each and everyone is out doing themselves with the formulations of how great and life changing this building is going to be. These are some pictures from one of the new properties nearby.

I am wondering why they cut the words off like this? Is it to grab attention because its off or is it because someone thought you can just do it this way?

The Breasts (and eyes, and lips, and face, and teeth, and, and, and)

A proof for the fact that more and more people are coming into money is advertisement for enhancing surgery. Riding in a cab I found this wonderful ad for breast surgery. I find it very funny how nicely they put things in these ads.

Beijing Kempinski Lufthansa Center

On a different note I can only recommend a visit or stay in the Kempinsiki Hotel Beijing Lufthansa Center. It is simply a great spot for chilling out, recharging your batteries, getting great Illy coffee, and stable internet. The hotel is said to be one of the best in town and simply by walking in any doubts about this should be wiped away. In addition if you feel like having any German sausage, cheese, or bread the Kempi Deli will fulfill any of your culinary wishes. The deli serves anything German and I simply another great “Embassy” in a culinary sense. Apparently the place is also well received by the more affluent locals as the place was packed with Chinese people enjoying a Laugenbrezel with Kochschinken. Overall the place is fantastically decorated and now for Chinese New Year they have put up this enormous tree.

If you are planning to go to the Great Wall the Kempinski also has a fantastic resort called the “Commune by the Great Wall”. If you have a couple of minutes on your hand you should check out the website. The Resort is also featured in pretty much every guide.