The most expensive things in China 2009

US$1 million for a dog? Actually it would have been US$1.5 million, if the owner hadn't turned the offer down. And what about US$20,000 just to get into a party? Yes, the year-end lists keep on coming, and this one's related to all the crazy ways people in China spent their fortunes. Shanghai features twice in the list just released by Plush: “China's top 10 most expensive items in 2009.”

If you’re talking Scrooge McDuck wealth in Shanghai, then clearly real estate must be involved. Making the list is the current record holder for most expensive apartment in the city, an nearly 600-square-meter luxury pad in the Tomson Riviera complex. Sold in November, the property cost RMB 96.09 million -- that would be RMB 160,848 per square meter. This sale represents a 13-percent increase over the February 2007 sale of a similar apartment and the former record holder. No surprise with real estate news like this in 2009 that the government is trying to cool things down in 2010.

Property prices are still increasing though giving Shanghai a good shot at topping the Hurun Report’s “Rich List” in 2010 (it lost Beijing in 2009).

Shanghai’s other appearance in Plush’s list? Apples. In early 2009 a supermarket in Shanghai sold apples imported from Japan for RMB 2,009 each. How do you like them apples? Sorry, we couldn’t help ourselves.