Telecom Equipment Top Choice for Rich BeijingersTelecom equipment, cars and expensive home appliances are the most popular items on the shopping list of high-income families that have an average annual income of 50,000 yuan or more in the Chinese capital, according to a latest official survey.Of the 301 families questioned, 19 percent chose telecommunications apparatus (including PC) as their first things to purchase this year, while 18 percent said they were going to buy a car. Sixteen percent made expensive home appliances their No. 1 option. BigBody-building equipment ranked fourth among what these families planned to purchase this year. Other families preferred housing, jewelry, musical instruments or camera. Along with economic development, Chinese families' appetite for expensive goods have varied over the past decades. In the 1970s, the top three goods were watches, bikes and radios; in the 80s they were colored TV set, refrigerator and washing machine. Now it's the turn for houses, cars and computers. The survey found that travel has been another way to spend money for local residents in Beijing. Sixteen percent of those questioned said they were planning for overseas trips, while 43 percent preferred to travel to other parts of the country. Last year, 8 percent of these families traveled abroad, each spending 43,480 yuan during their overseas stay. |
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