China's Luxurious Side In Photos
A series of photographs show the speedy development of China's upper echelon.
Dec. 22, 2013 — -- intro: As citizens of the world's second largest economy, China, increase their wealth, so does their conspicuous consumption.
The growth of China's wealth is evident not just in Asia, but in the U.S., where Chinese make up the fastest-growing market for foreign buyers of American homes.
Read More: How to Sell Your House to Chinese Buyers
Commercial relations between the two countries are as important as ever, and the U.S. government hopes to strengthen its diplomatic ties after recent security-related strains.
This week, President Obama nominated Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., to become U.S. ambassador to China in the same month that China declared an air defense zone over disputed territory in the East China Sea.
Read More: Obama Names China Envoy, Economic Ties in Mind
See photos that display some of China's luxurious side.
quicklist:title: Chairman Mao in Gold and Jade media: 21263642text:
A gold and jade statue of former Chinese leader Chairman Mao Zedong, 83 cm in height and more than 50 kilograms in weight, is unveiled during the Art Shenzhen 2013 exhibition at Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center on Dec. 13, 2013 in Shenzhen, China. The statue worth around 100 million yuan (or $16 million) was built by 20 artists in eight months to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the birth of Mao Zedong. It will be placed in the Mao Zedong Memorial in his birthplace Shaoshan after the exhibition.
quicklist:title: Cars, Cars and Carsmedia: 21262253text: This picture taken on Jan. 19, 2013 shows several sports cars parked in front of luxury apartment blocks at the seaside city of Sanya, in China's southern Hainan province.
quicklist:title: Music media: 21262340text: On-lookers visit the Steinway & Sons piano zone at the Luxury China 2013 exhibition on June 22, 2013, in Beijing.
Read More: Mittens Sold to Raise Money for US Olympic Team Made in China
quicklist:title: Hotelsmedia: 21262390text: Workers clean the road at the Beijing Laffitte Chateau hotel, a multi-million dollar replica of France's historic Chateau Maison-Laffitte, on June 12, 2011 in Beijing, China. It houses a luxury hotel, spa and wine museum.
quicklist:title: Business as Usualmedia: 21263447text: This photo from Sept. 7, 2011 shows the luxury interior decoration of the office building, containing three floors of offices and three more floors of a print museum belonging to the state-owned Harbin Pharmaceutical Group Sixth factory in Harbin, in northeast China's Heilongjiang province. The state-owned drug firm in China has caused online outrage for allegedly building offices that appear to mimic France's Versailles palace, complete with gold-tinted walls and chandeliers.
quicklist:title: Apple of China's Eyemedia: 21262762text: A shopkeeper shows golden iPhones and accessories at a shopping mall on March 25, 2011 in Qingdao, China.
quicklist:title: Conspicuous Consumptionmedia: 21263755text: A crowd gathers to admire a gold-plated Infiniti luxury sports car on display outside a jewelry store in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu province on March 31, 2011. China is predicted to become the world's largest luxury goods market by 2020, accounting for 44 percent of worldwide sales and bigger than the entire global market is now.
quicklist:title: Goldmedia: 21263826text: Chinese girls look at a tower of gold bars worth 260 million yuan (or $38 million) displayed at a shopping mall in Beijing on July 30, 2010. China's gross domestic product in the first half stood at 17.284 trillion yuan ($2.5324 trillion) as China has moved ahead of Japan to become the world's second-largest economy, according to a senior central bank official.
