Beside the half-built towers of “No. 8 Royal Park”, a luxury residential development on the edge of central Beijing, footmen in purple livery beetle around on stretched Mercedes golf carts or lounge next to a statue of a winged Roman goddess riding a golden chariot.
Looking out from the opulent showroom at the dust and mud of the construction site and the city’s gridlocked fourth ring road, it is hard to ignore the aura of fin de siècle excess and the echoes of Florida Mcmansions in 2006 or Pets.com stock in early 2000.
In a city where the average annual income is less than $8,000, a 500 square meter apartment in this development is priced at well in excess of $10m.