上海：情人无价 情人节有价
China's rich spend big for V-Day
[ 2007-02-12 14:47 ]
Once considered a symbol of the West, Valentine's Day is becoming big business in China.
This Valentine's Day, Shanghai banker Richard Fan will be buying his wife a 40,000 yuan (US$5,100) Cartier wrist watch. "I think it's a better gift than some 10,000 or 20,000 yuan meal," said Fan, 37. "A gift you can use daily looks much more concrete," he added. The watch's price tag is 12 times more than the average Chinese farmer earns in a year. Among Valentine's Day gift ideas on offer in Shanghai is a $1,000 wine-and-dine package that includes limousine transfers, personal butlers and candle-lit dinners. "People who earn more in Shanghai require something different for their special days," said Joan Pan, a manager at the JW Marriott Hotel, situated on the city's fashionable Nanjing Road. This year for Valentine's Day, the hotel is offering a 28,888 yuan package, including an overnight stay in either its Chairman's Suite or the Presidential Suite. Expensive? Not nearly as much as one hotel which last year offered a Valentine package for a staggering 188,888 yuan ($24,000). The night included a romantic cruise on a luxury yacht along the waters of the Huangpu River. Even some in the industry were shocked by that extravagance. "It attracted attention for sure, but I'm not sure it gave people a positive impression," said one Shanghai-based hotel manager. 双语资讯
(Reuters)
曾被视为“洋节日”的情人节如今渐渐成为中国的一个“大产业”。 上海某银行的高级职员Richard Fan为妻子准备的情人节礼物是一块价值4万元的卡迪亚腕表。 37岁的范先生说：“我觉得这比花上一两万块钱吃顿饭要好。” 他说：“送个每天能用到的东西感觉要‘实在’得多。” 这块手表的价格相当于中国普通农民一年收入的12倍。 此外，价值1000美元的情人节套餐也成为上海的一大新潮，套系内容包括豪华轿车接送、私人管家服务和烛光晚餐。 位于上海时尚大街南京路的万豪国际大酒店的Joan Pan经理说：“上海收入较高的人过这些节日总喜欢来点与众不同。” 万豪大酒店今年情人节推出了一款价值28888元的套餐，预订者可以在情人节当天在主席套房或总统套房共度浪漫之夜。 觉得贵吗？这可远远比不上去年万豪推出的价值高达18万8888元的情人节套餐。去年这一套系的内容还包括乘坐豪华游艇在黄浦江上“浪漫夜游”。 甚至一些业内人士也惊叹于这种奢华。 上海某酒店的经理说：“这确实能吸引注意力，但我不好说这一定能给别人留下好印象。”
Vocabulary:
wine-and-dine : 吃喝
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