Let me tell you about the very rich
They are different from you and me. (F. Scott Fitzgerald, "The Rich Boy")
Like, for instance, they who enjoy the "helicopter privileges" we saw advertised along Shuinan Road outside of Changping.
More after the jump
In these four years living in Changping, I have sometimes come across locations developed by Reignwood just outside of town. It's a company specializing in housing, resorts, and services marketed to the very wealthiest of the wealthy in China. I'm always a little jarred when I see these places for the first time, as they contrast starkly with the less flashy town of Changping.
On our earliest trip out to Changyucheng, we were absolutely amused to see this entrance gate to Reignwood's Pine Valley. We drove west out of Changping, through the village of Shuitun, which is not much more than a complex of cheap home furnishing shops and a street lined with shops catering to the long-distance haulers that use the town as a massive truck stop. After a few miles, we saw this, which caused me to laugh out loud. It may be a fitting entrance to Pine Valley, but it surprised me how out-of-place it seemed at that moment.
I actually met an American man about two years ago in the Changping WalMart who said he lived out in this development, but had to come into Changping for his groceries. From the website's description it seems like a nice place to live, though I was amused that a resident of the "super private luxury villas" (to use the description from the Pine Valley website) still found the Changping WalMart the best shopping choice.
The most notable Reignwood property right now with us not-wealthy types is Beijing Wonderland. I blogged about it in 2010, but after it was featured on the websites of The Atlantic, National Geographic, The Washington Post , it started to draw a too much attention. By the October holiday week last year, it was patrolled by guards keeping the curious masses out.
It's been reported recently in the news that there are now plans to dismatle Wonderland and replace it with a shopping center. The timing is interesting. It has remained in this state for so long that I wonder why they would even bother. On Reignwood's own website (as of this blogging) it continues to be described as "Beijing Wonderland Luxury Brand Outlet Mall and Eco-Resort, located along the Beijing Badaling Highway leading to the Great Wall of China, is a large-scale retail entertainment & resort development comprising a land area of 2000 Mu (320 acres)." Will it be removed from their website as well?
I'll certainly miss what I like to call a "colossal monument to hoped-for excess that never arrives."
I'm intrigued, though, by which projects Reignwood did see to fruition compared to those they abandoned. Pine Valley is real and active (I think), and yet Wonderland is a neglected shell. What kind of customer are they successful in serving (the very rich, perhaps?) versus the clientele that will never enjoy Wonderland (umm, the rest of us)?
Like, for instance, they who enjoy the "helicopter privileges" we saw advertised along Shuinan Road outside of Changping.
More after the jump
In these four years living in Changping, I have sometimes come across locations developed by Reignwood just outside of town. It's a company specializing in housing, resorts, and services marketed to the very wealthiest of the wealthy in China. I'm always a little jarred when I see these places for the first time, as they contrast starkly with the less flashy town of Changping.
On our earliest trip out to Changyucheng, we were absolutely amused to see this entrance gate to Reignwood's Pine Valley. We drove west out of Changping, through the village of Shuitun, which is not much more than a complex of cheap home furnishing shops and a street lined with shops catering to the long-distance haulers that use the town as a massive truck stop. After a few miles, we saw this, which caused me to laugh out loud. It may be a fitting entrance to Pine Valley, but it surprised me how out-of-place it seemed at that moment.
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| picture taken Feb 14, 2010 |
I actually met an American man about two years ago in the Changping WalMart who said he lived out in this development, but had to come into Changping for his groceries. From the website's description it seems like a nice place to live, though I was amused that a resident of the "super private luxury villas" (to use the description from the Pine Valley website) still found the Changping WalMart the best shopping choice.
The most notable Reignwood property right now with us not-wealthy types is Beijing Wonderland. I blogged about it in 2010, but after it was featured on the websites of The Atlantic, National Geographic, The Washington Post , it started to draw a too much attention. By the October holiday week last year, it was patrolled by guards keeping the curious masses out.
It's been reported recently in the news that there are now plans to dismatle Wonderland and replace it with a shopping center. The timing is interesting. It has remained in this state for so long that I wonder why they would even bother. On Reignwood's own website (as of this blogging) it continues to be described as "Beijing Wonderland Luxury Brand Outlet Mall and Eco-Resort, located along the Beijing Badaling Highway leading to the Great Wall of China, is a large-scale retail entertainment & resort development comprising a land area of 2000 Mu (320 acres)." Will it be removed from their website as well?
I'll certainly miss what I like to call a "colossal monument to hoped-for excess that never arrives."
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| photo taken November 21, 2010 |
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