If you've ever walked into any of the familiar looking Western luxury brand stores around Beijing, chances are you've walked straight back out again when noticing the less familiar prices. Luxury goods are unbelievably high-priced in Beijing, due to a combination of high tax and store owners desperate to exploit the immodest egos of Beijing's new money.

Foreign luxury items are subject to a significant tax on entry into China, aimed at redistributing wealth and, judging by the sales figures, this must be a huge amount.

Certainly cash can't buy class, but it can buy the outrageously ostentatious Louis Vuitton bags that adorn many of the women's shoulders in the capital these days. This gaudy nature has not gone unnoticed around the world, where the traveling newly wealthy of China have even made an impact in London, with some comparing them somewhat unfavorably to Russian shoppers.