Fun in China


With over 325,000 views on this video, it's gaining popularity in China.

The words are all about the Chinese New Year.

You might recognize the tune. Silly but what a laugh.


And as is typical in China, here's a response to the video in video form - this guy's got some moves.

Filed under  //  china   music  
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Two Flags the French Can't Ignore

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Just read an interesting news item on the incredible growth in Chinese tourist expenditure in France.

I remember when I lived in France and the Japanese dominated the luxury purchases but this is no longer the case. Who are the big spenders today is a little surprising.

The following is sourced from this article http://bit.ly/4AQp02

The Chinese bought tax-free goods worth 158 million euros (222.5 million dollars) in France in 2009 overtaking the Russians.

That was an increase of 47 percent from the level the previous year, according to Global Refund, a company specialising in tax-free shopping for tourists.

Tax-free shopping by Chinese tourists has been increasing for the last two years, rising by 39 percent in 2007 and 23.3 percent in 2008. They now represent 15 percent of sales and 13 percent of transactions.

The economic crisis caused Russians to curb their spending, which dropped by 22.7 percent to 111 million euros, according to the study, which was based on figures collected by stores partnering with Global Refund.

Chinese tourists spent on average 1,071 euros in tax-free goods last year, while Russians shelled out 1,055 euros each.

“The increase from the Chinese is not surprising. What was unexpected was the fall in business done with the Russians,” Jean-Marc Leroy, director general of Global Refund France, told AFP.

To me this proves the point that China is not just a country of opportunity for outside investment but cannot be ignored by the outside for the power of its purse.

This is probably not surprising to anyone but what surprised me was who was at the top of the list of big spenders in France. The Ukrainians. They remained the biggest spenders on average at 1,481 euros per person, followed by tourists from Saudi Arabia, who spent 1,435 euros each.

Ukrainians also had a big appetite for watches and jewellery, with Ukrainians spending 7,782 euros on average for such goods while Saudis spent 4,978 euros.

Americans spent about 1/3 of the Chinese.

Filed under  //  china   retail  
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