Have you ever wanted to relocate to France, buy a chateau and settle down? If you are Chinese you don’t have to as China is busy recreating Bordeaux – complete with its chateaux.
Jin Shi Tan Resort, an hour drive away from Dalian in Liaoning Province, is the home of the Chateau de Bordeaux – a huge real estate project. Single villas, semi-detached homes, town houses and apartments are all built in the style of French chateau.
The Dalian Haichang Group is building 400 luxury villas in this style – 80 of which are due to be completed by the end of this year. The real estate project includes plots of vines, wineries, shops and restaurants.
Those who rent or buy these homes will have the impression of living in the Medoc, Libourne and the Entre-deux-Mers. It’s a novel way to bring together real estate, relaxation and wine.
The Group is also developing an international wine-industry park and two golf courses nearby. The park is expected to reach 5,000 acres and 400 acres of grape vines imported from Bordeaux have been planted. Dalian should be producing its own locally produced wine in the next 3 years.
The Dalian Haichang Group also sponsor wine festivals to encourage the Chinese to get to know the wine and culture of Bordeaux a little better.
Moreover the Dalian Haichang Group has purchased several Bordeaux chateaux:
Chateau Chenu Lafitte, Côtes de Bourg
Chateau Branda, Bordeaux
Chateau Grand Branet, Côtes de Bordeaux
Chateau Laurette, Sainte Croix du Mont
Chateau Thebot, Saint Foy La Grande
Dalian is a major city and seaport and has 7 million inhabitants. It lies on the shores of the Yellow Sea and is an hour’s flight east of Beijing. It is a popular destination among domestic tourists and foreign visitors, especially from Japan, South Korea and Russia.
It seems that Bordeaux has captured the Chinese people’s imagination in more ways than one and with the investment in permanent structures Bordeaux now has a foothold in China which will be there for years to come. Similarly the Chinese have a foothold in Bordeaux with the purchase of chateaux.
No other wine producing region or country has inspired the Chinese to this extent. It will take time for China’s huge population to switch on to wine but with this kind of development popping up all around China, Bordeaux is going to be the people’s first choice.