Hainan Rendez-Vous: Living the luxury life on the 'Chinese Riviera'

There were yachts and private jets, Champagne and diamonds, and party after party after party with guests clad in high fashion couture, all the requisite pieces needed to complete China’s ultimate luxury lifestyle event: the Hainan Rendez-Vous.

Held at the exclusive Visun Marina in Sanya, on Hainan Island -- sometimes billed as “China’s Hawaii” -- this was the second annual Hainan Rendez-Vous. Around 15,000 visitors attended the show as well as nearly 200 exhibitors showcasing opulent products ranging from Lamborghinis to Vertu mobile phones. Their booths lined a pink-carpeted walkway along the marina’s waterfront.

One-stop shopping

The aim of the four-day show, which began on April 1, was to create a one-stop shop for China’s rich, essentially a place for the country’s wealthy to enjoy sun and Champagne while mulling whether to buy a business jet, a yacht or both.

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Rendez-Vous is also part of an effort to rebrand the glitzy area -- which sharply contrasts against a backdrop of dozens of old fishing boats and dilapidated apartment buildings across the bay -- as the “Chinese Riviera,” according to the organizers, who are French.

Sanya is poised to undergo a massive overhaul to boost its tourism industry with at least 20 new yacht clubs, thousands of boat slips and hundreds of resorts and villas planned over the next decade or so, according to Emmanuel Delarue, head of New Design Associates, an architectural firm helping the local government with urban planning.

We provide luxury lifestyle for our members, top-end jewels, diamonds, yachts, Ferraris, airplanes. They are all super affluent but they are also invisible. They don’t want their faces to be seen.— Jean Rosanvallon, CEO of luxury jet manufacturer Dassault Falcon

Lifestyles of the rich and anonymous

More than two dozen private jets landed at the local airport carrying 300 super-wealthy “VVIPs” from Shanghai and Beijing as well as second- and third-tier cities stretching from Shenyang in the northeast to Chengdu in the south.

Organizers kept their identities under wraps, citing requests from the mega-rich guests to keep their presence at the event, as well as any big spending they might do there, completely from public view.

Some had made their fortunes in mining, property development or banking, organizers said.

They are “the real cream of the cream,” said Traugott Kaminski, head of China operations for the yacht manufacturer Sunseeker, referring to the elite attendees. In 2003, Kaminski says he sailed the first two luxury yachts to China, a move that subsequently has garnered him the title of “the godfather of the Chinese yacht industry.”

Sunseeker put half a dozen multi-million dollar yachts on display around a floating stage complete with a rock band and models in black bikinis.

On Friday evening, the yacht manufacturer threw a “strawberry party” for guests. Later that night, Lacoste held a pool party, and the following evening, Perrier-Jouët held a soirée to celebrate its 200th anniversary.

“Strawberries, Champagne and girls are the ingredients for showcasing," said Kaminski.

Adult toys and their accessories

Other yacht manufacturers at Rendez-Vous included Azimut, Ferretti Group and Princess Yachts Asia.

Sunseeker sold 10 yachts to Chinese buyers in 2010. This year, the company has already sold six (two more pending), four of which were purchased during the Hainan Rendez-Vous.

During his interview with CNNGo in Sunseeker’s brand new -- and only -- flagship store in China, Kaminski awaited the arrival of a client who planned to buy two yachts, one to be moored in the north of the country and one in the south.

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“This customer is a very big guy,” said the Sunseeker executive, adding that his ultimate goal is to expand the number of yachts owned by the Chinese to 5,000 in coming years.

“The market in China will be bigger than the European market,” Kaminski said.

“To sell boats, is not the problem. The problem is all boats need the proper back-up involved in the master planning of the yacht industry. What will be the scale of development and how to develop the industry chain to fulfill the need to sustain it?”

I came to look at the luxury stuff. I don’t have that much money. China is developing quickly so maybe in the future I will be able to buy a yacht— Chen Xing, a drink vendor

The development of an infrastructure to support the growing number of expensive toys purchased by China’s rich is a concern that extends beyond yachting. Private jet companies also see the country as a growth market yet say they are concerned a lack of necessary airport infrastructure could stymie the industry’s development.

“Delivering an airplane is nice, but you need to be able to operate the airplane,” said Jean Rosanvallon, CEO of luxury jet manufacturer Dassault Falcon. “All of this is new to China right now.”

Sky's the limit

China, Rosanvallon said, has a dearth of special airport terminals that can be used to service private aviation, which means that if a Chinese client buys a jet, he or she may not necessarily have a place to park it. There are also restrictions on airspace for non-commercial aircraft, resulting in sometimes long delays to obtain approval just to take off.

There are around 150 private planes flying into between 20 and 30 airports in China, according to the CEO. In contrast, there are more than 10,000 business jets flying into around 5,000 airports in the United States and around 3,000 planes flying into a couple of thousand airports across Europe, he said.

Nevertheless, China now makes up between 15 to 20 percent of Dassault Falcon’s business, up from just two percent only a couple of years ago. This year, Dassault Falcon hopes to sell more than 12 aircraft to the Chinese. The most popular model on the mainland is the company’s biggest plane, the Falcon 7X, which costs $50 million.

Rosanvallon said there are also concerns about the image that private jets have on the mainland, that they are viewed more as an object of luxury rather than a tool needed for business. This, he said, is an image the company is trying to change, citing the Chinese government’s concern that the growing gap between the rich and poor could lead to social unrest.

Last month, officials in Beijing banned certain types of luxury advertising in the capital.

“We don’t want to be seen only as luxury -- the business jet is a business tool,” Rosanvallon said, explaining that the industry faced tough times in the United States when top executives were scrutinized for using private jets during the financial crisis. “There are always political questions in our industry.”

Nearby, a potential Chinese jet buyer explained to other Dassault Falcon staff that he wanted to help members of a super exclusive lifestyle company he runs purchase their own personal planes.

“We provide luxury lifestyle for our members, top-end jewels, diamonds, yachts, Ferraris, airplanes.” he said. “They are all super affluent but they are also invisible. They don’t want their faces to be seen.”

Other exhibitors included New York real estate companies trying to sell condominiums on Wall Street. Some were marketing vineyards in France.

This is the top fashion now, having a castle with a vineyard in the Bordeaux area.— Patrick Nouvel, a Shanghai-based investment consultant

“This is the top fashion now, having a castle with a vineyard in the Bordeaux area,” said Patrick Nouvel, a Shanghai-based investment consultant who was hawking vineyard sales brochures he had collected during a recent trip to France. “That is very exclusive.”

Luxury lifestyle goals

Not all of those who attended were interested in buying a vineyard, or even a yacht. In fact, it seemed many of the thousands of visitors came simply to see the ostentatious wealth first-hand.

“We think seeing this can help us improve ourselves,” said Yu Rui and Yang Di, college students from a nearby university. “When we see this exhibition, we think we will study harder and work harder so we can make more money.”

“I came to look at the luxury stuff. I don’t have that much money,” said Chen Xing, a drink vendor. “China is developing quickly so maybe in the future I will be able to buy a yacht.”

By Monday evening, the last day, the extravagant booths began to come down. Roses, orchids and other flowers filled the trash cans. Glass cases once holding diamonds were emptied. The Lamborghinis were driven away, the private jets departed. And the waterfront returned to a normalcy that can only be found in China.