Nothing displays the extreme wealth, hype and excess in China better than the price tag of the Olympics opening ceremony. On ganji.com, the hottest cyber market for trading Olympics tickets, several sellers have the neck to charge 100,000 RMB for a ticket originally priced at 5,000, the highest of the opening ceremony. This is extreme and might even be a publicity stunt more than anything else, but in general, the tickets resold on the market go for 10 times the original value. The organisers have regulated against exorbitant profiteering through measures like ID check for ticket buyers and only one resell is allowed at no more than twice the price, but rules are often hardly more than a mere guide line for behaviors. As China is fast becoming the world’s largest market for luxury products where million-dollar Maybachs sell like hotcakes, the outlandishly rich might just drop 100,000 RMB on the game of a life time.
Hi, I am Jenny Zhu from ChinesePod.com. I bring you a slice of the Chinese language and culture in the daily podcast. But there is so much more than what a podcast has time for, so jennyzhu.com is a space of observation and reflection on the big, small and everything in between about China.
Mickey
June 25th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
I remember last year there was a Millionaire’s Expo held in Shanghai. It’s really becoming the center of Asia’s wealthy.
But 100,000 RMB for a ticket? And just for the opening ceremonies? My gad.