China's Ancient Sex Museum in Tongli

China's Ancient Sex Museum, once located in the Shanghai's booming streets, now has to move to Tongli Town in East China's Jiangsu Province due to a funding shortage. After a recent move from Shanghai, Tongli has now become the new center for the China Sex Museum.

Open-minded individuals can enjoy a stroll through the sculpture garden and see four indoor exhibitions about the history of sexuality, namely: "Sex in Primitive Society," "Marriage and Women," "Sex in Daily Life," and "Unusual Sex-ual Behavior."  A number of exhibits are worth a mention, including statue of a grandson and his grandfather, sporting an elongated, phallic head with a turtle resting on the tip

Source: china.org

IBM to Work on Building Shanghai Airport Software-System

(WSJ) International Business Machines Corp. agreed to work with the Shanghai Airport Authority to build a software system to help manage operations at the city's Hongqiao International Airport.

The computer maker said Thursday that the project would help the airport anticipate flight arrivals by tracking a large amount of data about air traffic coming into and leaving Hongqiao International. It would also help the airport manage other operations, such as the flow of taxis.

Financial terms weren't disclosed.

The contract follows an IBM project completed in March that it said helped reduce delays.

Source: Wall Street Journal by Paul Mozur

Ritz-Carlton to Expand in China Even as Government Cuts Expenses

(Bloomberg) Ritz-Carlton, the hotel brand owned by Marriott International Inc. (MAR), said demand for luxury hotels in China will withstand an economic slowdown and government spending curbs.

About 10 percent to 15 percent of the 200 new luxury, lifestyle hotels that the Marriott group will add in the next three years will be under the Ritz-Carlton brand in the Asia-Pacific region, said Victor Clavell, vice president for the chain in the region. The brand has 10 hotels in China, its fastest-growing market in Asia, while more than 20 are under construction, he said.

“There’s huge demand for luxury brands,” Clavell said in an interview in Shanghai yesterday. “Obviously, there’s a little bit of projection on the slowing down of Chinese economy, but it’s still growing at a much faster pace.”

The world’s second-largest economy grew at its slowest pace in six quarters in the first three months of this year, while the government banned officials from spending money reserved for meetings on banquets or luxury accommodation, as the Communist Party battles public discontent over wasting of public funds.

“It’s very difficult to evaluate to what degree have these campaigns affected hotels,” Clavell said. “In capital cities, hotels have noticed more, especially in food and beverage, but I wouldn’t say this is something that would affect our future or growth that significantly.”

Luxury Hotels

Most hotels in China have a banquet-style Chinese restaurant used for meetings or weddings that draw local demand, and government spending limits may put a dent on food and beverage revenue for hotels in the long run, wrote Bloomberg Industries analysts led by Margaret Huang in a May 19 report. Five-star hotels make up 6 percent of the total hotel market in China, the analysts said.

Ritz-Carlton will also focus on adding more resort-hotels in Asia to cater to middle-class travelers, Clavell said. It will open three new Ritz-Carlton hotels in Bali, Indonesia, in the next three years, he said.

The brand’s most profitable hotel is in Sanya, on China’s tropical island of Hainan, according to the 

Ritz-Carlton.

Ritz-Carlton has 86 hotels around the world and will reach 100 in the next two years, Clavell said.

Source: Bloomberg News 

From the Arctic to Africa: Where China’s Wealthy Want to Travel

(WSJ) Forget France. China’s richest travelers want to vacation in much more exotic locations, including Australia, South America, the South and North poles and Africa, according to a new study.

Hurun Report, a firm that tracks the trends of China’s wealthy, spoke with 203 Chinese “super-tourists”—dubbed such because they took an average of 18 vacation days abroad per year and spent at least $25,000 on one trip over the past three years—for one section of its sprawling annual survey.

When asked which destination was their “must-achieve travel in the next three years,” the top answer was South America – Bolivia — with the two arctic Poles coming in second. Africa was third, followed by a Mediterranean luxury cruise. The only European country among the top 10: Switzerland in ninth place.

A rising motivation for travel among these super-tourists is medical tourism. Two-thirds said they’d consider traveling abroad for a trip to a hospital and 27% chose Switzerland as their top medical destination, followed by the U.S., with 22%.

Among the less-traveled rich – Hurun also conducted a separate survey of 393 high-net-worth individuals with at least 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) in assets – Australia shot up to their most-desired destination, up from seventh last year. France, came in second, followed by Dubai, Switzerland and the Maldives. Last year, France was the top destination, followed by the U.S. and Singapore.

And despite the city’s hostility to mainland Chinese visitors, Hong Kong remained a top destination, ranking second among domestic Chinese destinations, the same place it took in last year’s survey. In first place again was Sanya, which some dub as “China’s Hawaii.”

Source: Wall Street Journal 

Macao- Chinese with Western Characteristics

Macao, located on the southeast coast of China at the mouth of the Pearl River downstream from Guangzhou, is a perfect crossroad for the meeting of Eastern and Western cultures. Apart from its extremely rich attractions and numerous historical and cultural heritages, Macao is also known as the 'Oriental Las Vegas' for its booming and flourishing gambling industry

Source: china.org

Starwood Caters to Chinese Travelers

(WSJ) When Frits Van Paasschen launched a special hotline several years go for Chinese travelers to conveniently use Mandarin to make their bookings at Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., there was one thing he didn't think to add: English.

But as it turns out, Chinese travelers—the business ones in particular—frequently demand to speak English when they call the Chinese hotline, said Mr. Van Paasschen, Starwood's chief executive. So the hotelier, which runs more than 1,000 hotel brands across the world including Westin and St. Regis, is adding more English speakers to its Chinese staff.

Catering to the shifting demands of Chinese travelers has become a top priority for Starwood, said Mr. Van Paasschen. The country's travelers have catapulted China to its ranking as the world's fastest-growing travel market. By 2030 China's urban travelers will take 1.7 billion trips annually, up from 500 million in 2013, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group. They'll spend $1.8 billion on travel and tourism by that time, seven times last year's expenditure, according to BCG.

Mr. Van Paasschen recently spoke with The Wall Street Journal about strategies to lure Chinese travelers and expand in Asia. Edited Excerpts:

WSJ: Some believe that in many Chinese cities there's been oversaturation of the hotel market. How are you planning growth with that in mind?

Mr. Van Paasschen: In 2013, we had a 20% increase in our overall room count in China and in spite of GDP growth rates decelerating, we saw an increase in our overall occupancy. With investments in call centers, digital and loyalty cards, our hotels here are outperforming their competition. What's interesting about China is that because the largest cities are now cost-prohibitive, market forces are moving many to smaller places. And our growth is mirroring that.

It's also mirroring a demand for resort destinations. Relative to the number of people who can now afford to go to resort destination, there's a supply and demand imbalance. If you look at Hainan Island, in the south of China, it's one of the only temperate-climate destinations built up for year-round use. 

And we'll have more hotels there than in Hawaii. The demand for those kinds of locations is outstripping supply.

WSJ: How have Chinese travel patterns changed your expansion plans outside of China?

Mr. Van Paasschen: For Asia Pacific we have more than 200 hotels in the pipeline, 70 expanding beyond China on an existing base of around 132. That'll include expansion everywhere from India to Australia, where we're seeing the largest growth in a decade due to Chinese travelers.

We're seeing growth in the Maldives, in the Indian Ocean and the Emirates, but there are other places now where we'll be expanding. As more travelers begin to break from tour groups, there is a high percentage of people who are increasingly adventurous, so we're looking at Sri Lanka as being a very interesting market. Myanmar, with fits and starts, will also be an interesting market. Cambodia opportunities are expanding and there's a demand in the Philippines for resort locations.

WSJ: In what ways is Starwood trying to woo Chinese travelers?

Mr. Van Paasschen: Statistics show that China has 100 million outbound travelers and 25 million are leaving the country for the first time. We all know the trepidation that comes with the first trip abroad. 

Anything you can do to make that more familiar will help. So we provide slippers for Chinese travelers and those touches. We also launched a personalized Chinese travel program a few years ago, which has a call center in China, our largest one in the world. Chinese associates can help with any of our properties at any time of the day.

WSJ: How are you looking forward, beyond the base level of offering Chinese slippers and adding Chinese cuisine in the dining room?

Mr. Van Paasschen: We're launching personalization to help guests pick their preferences when they're booking their rooms. This is in Chinese and numerous other languages. If you were making a reservation at a property where you don't speak the language, you can register your preferences ahead of time, choosing options like whether you want a room next to an elevator or a corner room or a quiet room.

WSJ: China has experienced a corruption crackdown that's hit the luxury sector and some companies are now pulling back. Why is it important to you that you continue to develop hotels in the country?

Mr. Van Paasschen:We have more luxury hotels here under construction than open. That's a reflection of the fact that every day more Chinese are entering a level of income or are finding themselves at a level of business where they stay in luxury hotels. Five years ago, during the financial crisis, I was asked time and again if luxury was dead, but since then our luxury properties have doubled from 80 hotels to 160. And those hotels are performing better now. The growth of the luxury business here is a function of the development that's still happening and a growth and demand for luxury travel.

WSJ: Is there a turn from the luxury goods rather than the luxury experience?

Mr. Van Paasschen: We see continued growth in luxury demand for hotels in China. Your average Chinese millionaire has a closet full of shoes and two cars in the garage, but they have no end to the number of experiences they can have. What we find is that luxury travel and luxury experience beget more such experiences.

Source: Wall Street Journal 

Air China launches non-stop Beijing-Washington flight

(China Daily) Air China will offer non-stop flights between Beijing and Washington D.C. four times a week from June 10 this year in the latest move to expand its network in the United States.

The flight, operated with Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, is scheduled to leave Beijing at 1:00 pm (Beijing time) and arrive at 2:35 pm (Washington time) on the same day. The return flight is expected to depart at 4:35 pm and arrive at Beijing Capital International Airport at 6:15 pm the next day.

Flight numbers for the Beijing-Washington service will be CA817/818.

The United States is a popular travel destination for the increasingly affluent Chinese. China is expected to be the top tourist source market for the United States in 2018 with the number of visiting Chinese hitting 4.7 million, according to predictions from the US official tourism and marketing organization Brand USA.

Source: China Daily