Chinese millionaires and their 'bubbles'

The rocketing price of Tibetan Mastiffs is only one of several “bubbles” that have grown in China. Chinese millionaires, who have grown rich in a single generation, have lavished their money on everything from tea to stamps.

TEA

“Big Red Robe” tea, which is only grown in a small corner of Fujian province and used to be reserved for China’s emperors, has seen its price shoot up tenfold since the middle of last year. Traders are now selling kilograms of the tea for more than £1,000, according to China’s state-run media.

JADE

In the western city of Hotan, where the Yurungkash river carries jade down from the Kunlun mountains and into the Taklamakan desert, prices have risen tenfold since 2003, sparking a mad rush for the precious stone, technically known as nephrite. Most prized is yangzhi, or “mutton fat” jade, named because of its opalescent whiteness and slightly greasy sheen. The best pieces are now 10,000 times more costly than they were ten years ago.

WINE

More than 60 per cent of Sotheby’s entire wine sales in 2010 were made in Hong Kong. The price of 1982 Chateau Lafite Rothschild, China’s favourite brand, has risen by 60 per cent in the last 12 months. Over the past decade, the price has risen by 1,000 per cent, largely thanks to the insatiability of the Chinese market.

ART & ANTIQUES

The Chinese art and antiques bubble continues to blow, culminating in the world record sale of an 18th century vase earlier this year for an astonishing £43 million.

STAMPS

Earlier this month, an auction of rare stamps in Hong Kong saw a rare block of four stamps from the Cultural Revolution sell for HK$8,970,000 (£710,000), an all-time record for a Chinese stamp or multiple.