So I find this really bizarre website for a real estate development in Beijing called Maple Place, catering to a decadent western life style, complete with California-style Mediterranean villas in a country club setting.

http://www.bjriviera.com/

It's almost a duplicate clone of what you see in LA. The only thing missing are the annual forest fires that burn everything to the ground......

Old Mao must be turning over in his grave......

It's almost a duplicate clone of what you see in LA. The only thing missing are the annual forest fires that burn everything to the ground......

Hyoooooooooooooooooooo!

Those look like some of the new houses around here except for the three story thing. They got the no front yard and 10 ft between the neighbors thing right though lol! I'm so glad my house has way more than that! The coloring doesn't look too hot either.

I didn't know China had maple trees.:D

economic's.........

China's rich class is growing fast.

Some one has applied for a ferrari dealership francise in beijing.

heres a bit of light reading......................

adventures.................. (http://www.russbo.com/journal/journal_dengfeng.htm)

And Coke is king here. You won't find a Pepsi product. Coca Cola must have pulled some smooth moves years ago with the right people. It's all over the place.

From the DengFeng journal. Haha! Hey, we know WHY Coke is king in China! :grin:

Who is DengFeng, and why is his girlfriend a 9 and he is like a 2.

Who will live there? It looks like a retirement community for ENRON ex-executives. I didn’t see many Asians in any of those pictures.

Does Beijing have a sewer or water system that those homes can hook onto? Those places work here because we have utilities to support them. If they don’t, those homes probably dump waste into that lake...and probably get water from the same place.

Something odd about that web-site.

Mainly retired ex-patriots, I would say. Capitains of Industry who used to work in the States and have an affinity for China based on personal previous histories. With a country club and golf club, these are ritzy places that require a major investment of personal capital. Don't be surprised if many of these places are simply purchased and never lived in. They are investment vehicles only, for eventual resale, in the fastest growing capital city on earth.

As for facilities, those homes are financed through normal banking institutions that demand the same guarantees. Believe me BC, they do have toilets in China.

sewers, and reliable electricity.

We know the air is just awful.

I’m a little disappointed the architecture isn’t Asian. There was a building code that required adherence to centuries-old building principles.

That community looks bad. Like somebody built a suburb of Scottsdale over there.

I'm waiting for someone to build a community of mini-whitehouses - in the Federal style. Just a matter of time .... :laugh: Call it - Washington, District of China

Originally posted by Brainchild
sewers,


they imported alot of talent to sort that out from france/denmark.
but the problem still sits as a big heavily populated city where the people are used to sub-standard conditions.

the housing architecture is a bit diappointing:(

the British living in Shanghai lived in a British community. When Jim would travel to and from school by limo...he would pass through a gate that divided British China from China. His home looked like a British mansion.

The Japanese made short work of any and all cultural barriers. They didn’t give a rip about who was who and they determined what was what. The Chinese took everything that wasn’t nailed down.

One could imagine that little community in Beijing being nationalized in one weekend and those ENRON expatriots put to work rebuilding the Great Wall. No more jogging contests. No more running shorts. Snake soup once every other day.

China Car Of The Year

The Mazda 6 got the nod as the 2004 car of the year in China. I like my Touareg a whole lot better.

http://www.autointell-news.com/News-2004/January-2004/Jan-2004-1/Jan-02-04-p5.htm

Originally posted by Virgule
I like my Touareg a whole lot better. But can you prounounce it correctly?:grin:

the name? Is that German for something? Maybe Kroutcan?

The Touareg (twareg) are a self-reliant tribe of North African origin. What that has to do with an SUV, I have no idea.

African = Egyptian?

Originally posted by Brainchild
African = Egyptian?

No, Republicans.....