New subway routes open to public
Beijing opened a new subway line and extensions of three others on Sunday, marking a step forward in the capital’s efforts to expand its rail transit system to ease severe traffic congestion.
The new line and sections — Line 6 and extensions of lines 8, 9 and 10 — began operating early on Sunday and 698 trains had traveled on them by noon that day, Beijing Subway Company, which operates the lines, said on its website.
A passenger takes photos at Ping’anli Station in Beijing on Sunday. Four new subway routes went into operation, increasing the length of the capital city’s subway to 442 kilometers. [Photo/Xinhua]
The Beijing subway now has 442 kilometers of lines, making it the longest in China.
The first train began to run on Line 6 at 5:15 am on Sunday, starting its journey from Caofang Station in the eastern part of the city.
One white-collar worker surnamed Huang said he was pleased with the new service after taking a Line 6 train from the Qingnianlu Station, toward the eastern part of the line, to the Hujialou Station, where he transferred to Line 10.
“It took only about 8 minutes to go three stations, which was really fast,” Huang said.
Huang said the trains on Line 6 are more comfortable and longer than those on the older lines.
The new eight-carriage trains that travel on the line can carry nearly 2,000 passengers at a time, the Beijing Youth Daily reported.
A subway worker surnamed Li who works at Cishousi Station, a station on both lines 6 and 10, said she and her colleagues had prepared for two months for the official opening on Sunday. Every station has six to seven workers who take tickets, maintain security and direct traffic.
Technicians were under huge pressure to conduct signal experiments before the extended section of Line 10 began operating.
The signal experiments were not allowed to interrupt the operation of older sections of the line, a requirement that made the preparation work very difficult, said Zhang Yanbing, a senior engineer at the equipment department of Beijing MTR Construction Administration Corp, which built the new line and extensions. Most of the tests were conducted at night, Zhang said.
With the completion of two other stations in mid-2013, Line 10 will become Beijing’s second subway loop line and the longest line in the city.
Li Dongsheng, a retiree who lives in the city’s Tongzhou district, said he made a special trip on Sunday on Line 6 from Caoqiao Station to Nanluoguxiang Station, a journey that took him 30 minutes.
A fashion mogul wise beyond his years
Heir to Trussardi family business looks to expand on back of Chinese luxury demand
Despite becoming the chief executive officer of a century-old Italian luxury house at the mere age of 29, Tomaso Trussardi thinks he is “old” and “sophisticated” enough for the position.
“I was born into this company. The skill of CEO is something in my DNA, and I have learned to be a CEO since I came into this world,” said Tomaso Trussardi, a fourth-generation descendant of Dante Trussardi, the founder of the Trussardi Group, a multi-million dollar Italian luxury company that produces clothing and accessories.
Tomaso Trussardi’s forefathers, especially his father – Nicola Trussardi – turned a small glove-making business established in 1911 in Bergamo into a brand adored by British royalty and European fashionistas. After his father and elder brother died in separate car crashes, Tomaso Trussardi took the helm of the family business, and has since decided to write a new chapter for the brand in Shanghai.
His first step toward that end has been to open a leather fashion house on the Bund, a famous tourist destination in Shanghai. To many, the decision has evoked memories of a similar operation his father, a trendsetter in Italy, started in Milan in 1976.
“We want to grow,” Tomaso Trussardi said. “We are growing at a double-digit rate in every market. And speaking of growing, since Europe is in recession and there is little market share for us in America, we would like to focus on China.”
He said China is one of the company’s fastest-growing markets.
Even though the international consulting firms Bain & Co and McKinsey & Co have both said the Chinese market for luxury products expanded at a slower pace this year and will continue to do so in the coming couple of years, China’s demand for luxury goods remains strong.
Bain predicted the market will show a meager 7 percent year-on-year expansion in 2012, while McKinsey suggested the rate would be between 12 and 16 percent for the next three years, down from 18 percent last year.
According to a recent report on luxuries by McKinsey, more than a third of the money spent in the world by 2015 on luxury bags, shoes, watches and clothing will come from Chinese consumers – both in and outside the Chinese mainland.
Trussardi’s new flagship store in Shanghai, the first one in the Chinese mainland and the fifth in the world, is housed in a prestigious building on the Bund.
Its two floors occupy 400 square meters of space and present a decorative facade that the company believes will present “a chic look and perfectly interpret Trussardi luxury”.
“It is a completely different one from other stores in European cities,” said Tomaso Trussardi. “The exterior design of this store is brand-new, a work of Michael Young, an internationally renowned designer. And we have given our greyhound logo a tri-dimensional look only for this store.”
Having been CEO of the company for about three years, Trussardi said he cannot tell what influences or changes he has brought to it.
“I am trying to stick to what we are,” he said. “I don’t want to make big changes, but only move faster to develop the business, for example, in this market.”
The company’s 440 stores now give it a presence in 23 countries. Among them, seven are flagships. Although the brand has been known in big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai through its Tru Trussardi collection, it was not until the beginning of 2012 that it introduced its primary line.
Tomaso Trussardi said he believes the market is now ready for a brand such as Trussardi’s, which, he said, has much more than a popular logo.
The Chinese, he said, now are no longer obsessed with logos and are instead more attracted to “craftsmanship”, “quality products” and “Italian lifestyle”.
“Chinese customers now are more mature,” he said.
His beliefs find support in the two latest annual luxury reports released by Bain and McKinsey.
Bruno Lannes, partner at Bain in China and the lead author of the China Luxury Market Study, said luxury shoppers in China have gone from “showing off” to “recognizing and learning”.
He said the change will pose difficulties to luxury brands, which will lose customers unless they offer them something more relevant than “the status of those brands”.
Shoppers in second- and third-tier cities in China continue to acknowledge being attracted to products with “remarkable logos”, but 65 percent of the shoppers Bain polled from Shanghai and Beijing said they plan to buy fewer luxuries bearing well-known logos.
McKinsey, on the other hand, found that two-thirds of the respondents to its Chinese Luxury Consumer Survey “agreed or strongly agreed” that they prefer luxury goods that are understated. And more than half of the respondents said they think “showing off luxury goods is in bad taste”.
Two years ago, only 37 percent of the respondents expressed the same view.
In the next five years, the company plans to open 15 Trussardi stores in China that will be completely managed by the company itself, as well as 15 in the Asia-Pacific region. The company now has total managerial control of 25 percent of its stores.
“Chinese customers are really willing to spend a lot of money on what they want,” Trussardi said.
“In Europe or the United States, it may take at least half an hour to sell a bag that is priced over 1,000 euros ($1,320), while here, Chinese customers are like ‘goal customers’ who don’t bother with money.”
For Trussardi, the biggest difficulty in China will come in giving people an understanding of its brand without “taking customers back to Italy”.
“Trussardi is first a family. The identity of Trussardi first comes from a family,” said Tomaso Trussardi, who began appearing in Trussardi advertistements at the suggestion of his father when he was 15 years old.
In keeping with that practice, Trussardi’s film-star looks were featured in a recent video clip promoting the brand’s newest perfume in a campaign to mark the 100-year anniversary of the company.
Trussardi has a master’s degree in corporate finance and banking from Bocconi University in Milan. Wanting to practice the techniques of communication, he had once worked as a journalist.
After reporting for three years on what he called “the hot topics of the day”, Trussardi said he can affirm that he prefers working as a CEO, although that job comes with more responsibilities.
“My father and my mother, along with my family, give me my thoughts and also my experience,” he said.
“That’s something in my DNA. It’s genetic. I am really lucky because I have the possibilities to grow in the environment of my family and … to become who I am.”
A fashion mogul wise beyond his years
Heir to Trussardi family business looks to expand on back of Chinese luxury demand
Despite becoming the chief executive officer of a century-old Italian luxury house at the mere age of 29, Tomaso Trussardi thinks he is “old” and “sophisticated” enough for the position.
“I was born into this company. The skill of CEO is something in my DNA, and I have learned to be a CEO since I came into this world,” said Tomaso Trussardi, a fourth-generation descendant of Dante Trussardi, the founder of the Trussardi Group, a multi-million dollar Italian luxury company that produces clothing and accessories.
Tomaso Trussardi’s forefathers, especially his father – Nicola Trussardi – turned a small glove-making business established in 1911 in Bergamo into a brand adored by British royalty and European fashionistas. After his father and elder brother died in separate car crashes, Tomaso Trussardi took the helm of the family business, and has since decided to write a new chapter for the brand in Shanghai.
His first step toward that end has been to open a leather fashion house on the Bund, a famous tourist destination in Shanghai. To many, the decision has evoked memories of a similar operation his father, a trendsetter in Italy, started in Milan in 1976.
“We want to grow,” Tomaso Trussardi said. “We are growing at a double-digit rate in every market. And speaking of growing, since Europe is in recession and there is little market share for us in America, we would like to focus on China.”
He said China is one of the company’s fastest-growing markets.
Even though the international consulting firms Bain & Co and McKinsey & Co have both said the Chinese market for luxury products expanded at a slower pace this year and will continue to do so in the coming couple of years, China’s demand for luxury goods remains strong.
Bain predicted the market will show a meager 7 percent year-on-year expansion in 2012, while McKinsey suggested the rate would be between 12 and 16 percent for the next three years, down from 18 percent last year.
According to a recent report on luxuries by McKinsey, more than a third of the money spent in the world by 2015 on luxury bags, shoes, watches and clothing will come from Chinese consumers – both in and outside the Chinese mainland.
Trussardi’s new flagship store in Shanghai, the first one in the Chinese mainland and the fifth in the world, is housed in a prestigious building on the Bund.
Its two floors occupy 400 square meters of space and present a decorative facade that the company believes will present “a chic look and perfectly interpret Trussardi luxury”.
“It is a completely different one from other stores in European cities,” said Tomaso Trussardi. “The exterior design of this store is brand-new, a work of Michael Young, an internationally renowned designer. And we have given our greyhound logo a tri-dimensional look only for this store.”
Having been CEO of the company for about three years, Trussardi said he cannot tell what influences or changes he has brought to it.
“I am trying to stick to what we are,” he said. “I don’t want to make big changes, but only move faster to develop the business, for example, in this market.”
The company’s 440 stores now give it a presence in 23 countries. Among them, seven are flagships. Although the brand has been known in big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai through its Tru Trussardi collection, it was not until the beginning of 2012 that it introduced its primary line.
Tomaso Trussardi said he believes the market is now ready for a brand such as Trussardi’s, which, he said, has much more than a popular logo.
The Chinese, he said, now are no longer obsessed with logos and are instead more attracted to “craftsmanship”, “quality products” and “Italian lifestyle”.
“Chinese customers now are more mature,” he said.
His beliefs find support in the two latest annual luxury reports released by Bain and McKinsey.
Bruno Lannes, partner at Bain in China and the lead author of the China Luxury Market Study, said luxury shoppers in China have gone from “showing off” to “recognizing and learning”.
He said the change will pose difficulties to luxury brands, which will lose customers unless they offer them something more relevant than “the status of those brands”.
Shoppers in second- and third-tier cities in China continue to acknowledge being attracted to products with “remarkable logos”, but 65 percent of the shoppers Bain polled from Shanghai and Beijing said they plan to buy fewer luxuries bearing well-known logos.
McKinsey, on the other hand, found that two-thirds of the respondents to its Chinese Luxury Consumer Survey “agreed or strongly agreed” that they prefer luxury goods that are understated. And more than half of the respondents said they think “showing off luxury goods is in bad taste”.
Two years ago, only 37 percent of the respondents expressed the same view.
In the next five years, the company plans to open 15 Trussardi stores in China that will be completely managed by the company itself, as well as 15 in the Asia-Pacific region. The company now has total managerial control of 25 percent of its stores.
“Chinese customers are really willing to spend a lot of money on what they want,” Trussardi said.
“In Europe or the United States, it may take at least half an hour to sell a bag that is priced over 1,000 euros ($1,320), while here, Chinese customers are like ‘goal customers’ who don’t bother with money.”
For Trussardi, the biggest difficulty in China will come in giving people an understanding of its brand without “taking customers back to Italy”.
“Trussardi is first a family. The identity of Trussardi first comes from a family,” said Tomaso Trussardi, who began appearing in Trussardi advertistements at the suggestion of his father when he was 15 years old.
In keeping with that practice, Trussardi’s film-star looks were featured in a recent video clip promoting the brand’s newest perfume in a campaign to mark the 100-year anniversary of the company.
Trussardi has a master’s degree in corporate finance and banking from Bocconi University in Milan. Wanting to practice the techniques of communication, he had once worked as a journalist.
After reporting for three years on what he called “the hot topics of the day”, Trussardi said he can affirm that he prefers working as a CEO, although that job comes with more responsibilities.
“My father and my mother, along with my family, give me my thoughts and also my experience,” he said.
“That’s something in my DNA. It’s genetic. I am really lucky because I have the possibilities to grow in the environment of my family and … to become who I am.”
China to open first subway crossing Yangtze
A journalist shoots at a garage of the Changqing depot of Wuhan Subway Line 2 in Wuhan, capital of Central China’s Hubei province, in this July 14, 2012 file photo. The Line No 2 is the first subway line of the city, also the first subway line across the Yangtze River. [Photo/Xinhua]
WUHAN – China’s first subway line to cross the Yangtze River, the country’s longest waterway, is expected to start test run this month in the central city of Wuhan, local officials said Tuesday.
Subway trains have run through the 27.73-km tunnel for Wuhan Line 2, which links Wuchang and Hankou — two major areas of the city — over the past three months. But passengers will only be allowed to board the trains on December 28 when the test run starts, officials with the Hubei provincial transportation bureau said.
The subway line has recently passed the experts’ assessment, they said.
It will be Wuhan’s first subway, which is estimated to transport at least 600,000 passengers daily by 2015.
As a key transportation route, the line is expected to handle half of the city’s cross-Yangtze traffic flow, easing gridlock on bridges over the river.
The construction costs around 14.9 billion yuan (2.37 billion U.S. dollars), according to estimates by previous reports.
The 6,300-km Yangtze River, which originates in northwest China’s Qinghai Province and flows through 10 provinces and municipalities before emptying into the East China Sea, is a major transport link between the west and east China. More than 100 bridges across the river are in use.
Wuhan lies at the intersection of the Han and Yangtze rivers. Its city proper is divided into three major areas by the rivers.
China shows off world’s longest high-speed rail route
CHINA – China on Saturday showed off the final link of the world’s longest high-speed rail route set to begin whisking passengers from Beijing to Guangzhou next week in a third of the time currently required.
The much anticipated opening of high-speed passenger service from Beijing to Guangzhou, a distance of 2,298 kilometres (1,425 miles) is scheduled to begin Wednesday, officials said.
Travelling at an average speed of 300 kilometres per hour, the new line will slash the time it takes to travel by rail from the capital to the southern commercial hub from the current 22 hours to just eight.
Authorities took journalists for a ride Saturday on the section of the route linking Beijing’s West Station with the city of Zhengzhou 693 kilometres to the south, the route’s last link.
Hitting speeds of over 300 kmh, the gleaming, tubular train sped past frozen lakes and rivers as well as snow-covered farmland on the journey of approximately two-and-a-half hours each way.
Though moving much faster than the country’s conventional rolling stock, the ride on the aerodynamic bullet train was smooth and made little noise other than a low-level hum during most of the trip.
The reclining seats are laid out in rows of three and two separated by an aisle, are upholstered in cloth and can be turned around so rows faced each other.
Toilets on the train are of stainless steel squat variety, with slightly more bathroom space than would usually be found on an airliner.
“This is the world’s longest bullet train track,” Zhou Li, a Ministry of Railways official, told AFP, describing the Beijing-Guangzhou route.
Shanghai to enact strict new food safety law
Shanghai will introduce tough new laws to blacklist firms that flout food safety laws, a significant move in China’s consumer hub to end the food scandals that in recent years have killed children.
Under the proposed law, firms caught using banned substances in food, producing food from inedible ingredients, or illegally making, selling or using banned food additives, will be banned from operating in Shanghai,
China’s food safety record is abysmal. Frequent media reports refer to cooking oil being recycled from drains, carcinogens in milk, and fake eggs. In 2008, milk laced with the industrial chemical melamine killed at least six children and sickened nearly 300,000.
On Monday, Shanghai’s food safety authority said the level of antibiotics and steroids in Yum Brands Inc’s KFC chicken was within official limits, but found a suspicious level of an antiviral drug in one of the eight samples tested.
Yum faced criticism last week from China’s state-owned broadcaster, which said Yum’s KFC chickens in China contained an excessive level of antibiotics.
The planned regulation, expected to take effect next year, will see blacklisted firms barred from operating food businesses in the city.
Bumper crops mean China can feed itself
China increased its grain imports this year, but thanks to consecutive years of bumper crops the country will continue to be able to largely feed itself, a senior agricultural official said on Tuesday.
China’s imports of its three main food staples — rice, wheat and corn — reached 10.09 million metric tons in the first 10 months of this year, an increase of 9.29 million tons compared with the same period last year, said Bi Meijia, chief economist of the Ministry of Agriculture. The total imports of the three main grain crops were 3.57 million tons in 2011.
“China did ramp up its grain imports in recent years, mainly as a result of the increasing domestic need for grains for fodder and industrial use, and the rising demand for more grain varieties,” he said at a news conference organized by the State Council Information Office.
The strong surge in imports of the three staple crops has triggered widespread concern about the country’s long-asserted goal of maintaining its food security by domestically supplying at least 95 percent of the grains that it consumes.
But both government authorities and analysts said there is no shortage of grain in China.
“The total import volume of rice, wheat and corn now accounts only for about 2 percent of the country’s production output. China will surely continue to be largely self-sufficient in grain production,” Bi said.
Analysts believed so much was imported mainly because of the big price differences between domestic and relatively cheaper international markets.
They said this price discrepancy was created by the government’s minimum purchase price, which shored up domestic grain prices while they declined on the global market due to weak demand as a result of the sluggish economic recovery.
“The government should allow the purchase price some flexibility to fluctuate with international market prices,” said Ma Wenfeng, a senior analyst at Beijing Orient Agribusiness Consultant, one of the industry’s largest specialist consultancies.
China closes 2 suppliers for KFC, McDonald’s in safety probe
SHANGHAI: Food safety authorities have shut down two chicken farms in eastern China, including one that supplied Yum Brands Inc’s KFC and McDonald’s Corp , the official Shanghai Daily reported on Thursday.
The closures come after a report by state television earlier this week that some poultry suppliers in Shandong province had accelerated the growth of chickens by using chemical-laced feed.
The two slaughterhouses in Shandong have been ordered to halt production and seal all raw chicken products until samples can be tested, the newspaper said.
The paper, citing a report from Shandong’s animal husbandry and veterinary bureau, said the “relevant people responsible for these farms have been detained by police or are under further investigation”.
Officials at the bureau could not be reached by Reuters for comment.
The Shanghai Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is also conducting tests on poultry supplied to a Yum Brands logistics center in Shanghai, according to the official Xinhua news agency. Results from this test are expected as early as Thursday, the Shanghai Daily said.
KFC’s Chinese subsidiary has pledged to work with authorities, while McDonald’s wrote on its official microblog that its chicken and raw materials pass through independent, third-party laboratory tests.
China has been trying to stamp out health violations that have dogged the country’s food sector and includes reports of fake cooking oil, tainted milk and even exploding watermelons. In 2008, milk laced with the industrial chemical melamine killed at least six children and sickened nearly 300,000.
Yum Brands warned in November that it expects sales at established restaurants in China to fall 4 per cent in the fourth quarter, despite an improvement in economic indicators such as consumer confidence and retail sales.
Ibiza Club
It’s closed but the word is that’s it’s going under renovation, hard to believe it’s closed for the holidays! It’s definitely not open Christmas and New year. That’s another club that bites that dust!!
Shanghai Eden
Eden Club
http://www.edenshanghai.com
eden is unique in Shanghai’s peripatetic nightlife. It does not strive to be the trendiest or loudest — it strives only to be itself, a place for those who know what they want and want only the best.
Situated in the heart of the fashion district, eden is a sanctuary for Shanghai’s luminaries and their guests, offering a relaxed, urbane setting, high quality drinks and music by leading international DJs.
The space is glamorous yet intimate, with a sleek chrome bar for those “meeting-and-greeting,” and for the loungers, vintage chesterfield sofas to sink into and stay ’til the wee hours. Warm wood floors and modern leather poufs add to the sophisticated and eclectic design, inviting one to pull up a chair and shrug off that bespoke jacket.
As one would expect, the bar serves updated classic cocktails, each prepared using only fresh-squeezed organic juices and syrups and bitters made in-house. The cellar stocks a carefully curated selection of the finest champagnes and single malts. In the background, cutting edge DJ’s spin magic with the state-of-the-art Sennheiser sound system. Don’t be surprised to see a bold-faced name sipping a Brasil Mary here.
eden坐落于上海最繁华的中心地带,旨在为沪上的精英人士及其尊贵宾客提供一个完美的时尚圣地,让他们在此享受轻松优雅的环境,高品质的酒水饮品,和国际潮流的DJ音乐.
邂逅在酒吧前卫的镀鉻吧台前, 手持一杯品质上乘的葡萄酒, 落座于经典的切斯菲尔德沙发上, 让时间缓缓流过……如此的惬意,放松，怎能不让人流连忘返。时尚且舒适的氛围，华丽而又私密的空间，温暖的木质地板，再巧妙搭配设计感十足的现代皮革椅垫等元素，让人不禁想要褪去所有的压力束缚，拉来一把椅子坐下，享受其中。
这里最让人称道的，是经过精心改良的经典鸡尾酒。特选的鲜榨有机果汁、自制的糖浆和苦味酒，精心调制成一杯杯可口的饮品。口味如此上乘的秘密就隐藏在我们的酒窖中，那里有悉心储藏的各种上好的香槟酒和纯麦威士忌。
整间酒吧萦绕着肆意漫开的动人情调。在你的耳畔会不时传来，由一流DJ、顶级的森海塞尔音响系统完美演绎的音乐。若你遇见名人手握一杯巴西玛丽鸡尾酒，正在此悠然小酌，大可不必觉得惊讶，这正是我们酒吧的魅力所在。
Eden has closed, a little over 10 months since opening up on Nanjing Lu. The management, who also run Dakota and Monkey Lounge, tell us that they’ve been pleased with the weekend business but have struggled to make it work during the week. Clubs that cater to foreigners are hard to fill weekdays. Another bigger club opened up in the same building didn’t help.
The market is the same but the amount of clubs opening in Shanghai is crazy. The south bund end has another 20 blocks water front property waiting for new clubs and bars.
Another club bites the dust in Shanghai.
