Still think people in China are poor?

Most people have the perception that things in China are cheap since the people there are poor. Well that is true for the majority of the land. However, they have the most number of millionaires (in US) in the world and seem to be buying property around the world, similar to when the Japanese started buying up real estate in the 80s.

I saw Avatar in 3D yesterday for $15 a ticket which many would consider to be a steep price already. However, ticket sales in Shanghai for the same show are going for 200 RMB (equivalent to almost $30 USD). In fact, it seems like it is impossible to get tickets as people have been waiting overnight to get tickets. Keep in mind that this is winter and that temperatures were hovering around 20 degrees F. Scalpers have been drooling with some tickets selling for 1000 RMB per ticket (thats almost $150 USD per ticket). Below is a screenshot of Taobao.com with 3 tickets for 3000 RMB.

Here's a video of the line just so that you can get a better idea.



It isn't just these tickets that are more expensive than what they would cost here. Nike sneakers, BMW/Porsche/Mercedes, Tiffany's and anything that is of luxury brand is usually up to two to three times the prices that would be sold if the prices were converted from RMB to USD. For example a Mercedes SLK would cost around $45K USD without any options, but same car would go for approximately $120K USD. No wonder so many people from China want to come to the United States.