His store is big in Beijing, tiddly elsewhere but still ambitious.
Overall, seven emerging-market capitals are more expensive than the Big Apple, including Beijing, Seoul and Tel Aviv.
In return, Beijing gets a big stake in future oil production and a guaranteed oil and gas supply.
Housing prices in the big eastern seaboard cities like Beijing and Shanghai remain high compared to where they were five years ago, but have been coming down month over month due to the current policies that curb lending to the sector and restrict home purchases, especially for non-resident home buyers, foreign investors, and second or third home buyers.
"China's wealth is spreading beyond the entertainment industry's traditionally big markets in eastern cities like Beijing and Shanghai, and moving further out into second- and third-tier cities, " says Echo Yang, who compiled the list for Forbes China.
Beijing must also decide how big an appreciation, if any, should accompany the shift.
ECONOMIST: China should loosen its currency peg��and quickly
In 2008, he left behind his Cape Cod style home overlooking the Bay and rented an apartment in Beijing to catch the next big trend.
In the 1980s Beijing established farms to breed the big cats so that they could be released into the wild.
Vobile's big break came in 2007, when the Beijing media megalith Central Chinese Television (CCTV) asked the company to help it police Olympic videoclips to prevent their spread on the Web.
They believe only big businesses are really benefiting from more business with Beijing.
"It's hard to struggle on with paltry wages while your students have opportunities to make big bucks, " says a Western teacher in Beijing.
Until now, most of China's explosive growth in auto sales has been concentrated in the wealthier coastal areas near Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, where big, expensive sedans are popular.
Many of the Chinese companies involved are privately held, like Shuanghui, as opposed to the big state-owned enterprises that often act on behalf of Beijing on the international stage.
Beijing entrepreneur Alan Guo makes the point that today, big companies serve small companies rather than the other way around.
FORBES: Beijing Startup Builds On Shoulders Of Giants To Go Global And IPO From China
Mu Guangzong of Renmin University of China in Beijing says that even without it the fertility rate in big cities would only be around 1.5, well below the replacement threshold (but higher than 1.0 as it now is in Beijing and Shanghai).
One day before China's big moment, the Olympic opening ceremonies, a dull haze hung over Beijing.
The participating firms included Alison Brooks Architects from London, BIG Bjarke Ingels Group from Copenhagen, Cloud9 from Barcelona, Standardarchitecture from Beijing and J Mayer.
The dashing young equestrian will compete this summer in Beijing on his English horse, Hugo, and is one of the big Saudi medal hopes.
First, the big banks are state-owned and their chairmen appointed by the government, so they tend to follow Beijing's orders.
ECONOMIST: For those looking gamely for bright spots, China flickers
Big in China: My Unlikely Adventures Raising a Family, Playing the Blues, and Becoming a Star in Beijing, by Alan Paul.
"There are two big races to qualify for the Olympics - the World Championship series race in London and the grand final in Beijing, " he explains.
BBC: Sport - Alistair Brownlee ready for crucial Olympic qualifying year
Shares in the Chinese building exterior and interior designer led by Beijing billionaire Liu Zaiwang edged up by 0.2% on Thursday after the company posted a big rise in 2012 net profit.
FORBES: Shares In Beijing Billionaire Liu Zaiwang's Jangho Curtain Wall Gain As Profit Jumps
应用推荐