China's Wine Industry Growing

  From: Xinhua News Agency Author
Aug 28, 2009

China's wine industry is now in a period of supernormal growth with wine enterprises scattered across 26 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities nationwide.

China is now home to about 600 wine enterprises, 167 of which are state-owned earning annual sales revenues greater than 5 million yuan, located mainly in Shandong, Hebei, Jilin, Henan, Xinjiang, Liaoning and Gansu.

The industry's output churned out 23.4 percent more year on year to 698,300 kiloliters in 2008, its gross industrial output value increased 27.02 percent to 19.17 billion yuan, and sales value reached 18.32 billion yuan, up 23.75 percent. Meanwhile, China imported 163,200 kiloliters wine.

China's wine industry concentration level is considerably high, as the combined output of four leading brands, Changyu, Great Wall, Dynasty and Weilong, accounted for about 40 percent of the country's total.

The further development of the industry, however, will face several challenges, including insufficient policy supports, the absence of a scientific layout for future development, laggard research and promotion of existing research results, and the lack of industry standards.

Additionally, the industry disappointed the market by providing only a limited selection of wines; mainly being dry red ones. The industry's marketing system also failed to cater to China's local consumers.

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China's Wine Industry in Robust Growth

By Gao Yunduan
20 July 2009

China's wine industry has maintained a two-digit growth annually in recent years. Currently, the country has about 600 wineries. By the end of 2008, the country had 167 state-owned winery enterprises and others with annual sales exceeding RMB5 million.

According to statistics on the state-owned enterprises and other companies with annual sales revenue exceeding RMB5 million conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), China's wine output reached 698,300 kiloliters in 2008, rising 23.4%; and the total industrial output value, RMB19.168 billion, up 27.02%; and sales value, RMB18.322 billion, up 23.75%.

The country's wine output in 2007 was 66.5 tons, up 37% year on year; total industrial output value, RMB15.0 billion, up 22.8%; and profits, RMB1.6 billion, up 23.6%. Of the total output in 2007, the dry wine accounted for 62% (about 32.5 tons). The country's six large wineries produced 39.8% of the country’s total wine output, 51.1% of the total industrial output value.

The wine industry realized RMB15.586 billion in generated industrial output value in the first ten months of 2008, rising 33.44% year on year, RMB15.063 billion in sales value, up 28.65%. The country's imports of wine and such products surged 35% year on year in the first three quarters of 2008.

Compared with other alcoholic products, the wine industry is late in development, and the real development shall be in the recent decade, but it has maintained a rapid growth. The wine output has kept rising to a year-on-year growth of 18.1% in 2006, 37.05% in 2007 and 23.83% in 2008. At the same time, the wine production is high in concentration. According to statistics, the top 10 wine making regions took up 96.26% of the total wine output of the country in 2008, while the top 3, namely Shandong, Jilin and Hebei, accounted for 70.20% of the country's total. With the rapid development in recent years, the wine industry has become a focus of concern by various departments. The governments and enterprises in the wine production areas have increased the investment in wine product, while many non-wine making enterprises and capital funds have turned their eyes to the industry and gradually penetrated into the sector.

However, there still exit problems in China's wine industry. Construction of wine production bases is far from the need of the industrial development, affecting a sound development of the industry. Wine making regions are in lack of the scientific approach of planning in the development of the wine industry, leading to the overheating in some areas. The wine product varieties are too similar, the product mix is not rational, and the product quality is not high in general, having gaps with major wine production countries. The industry is weak in self disciplinary, and industrial standardization cannot keep pace with the need of development.

Imports of wine have achieved an explosive growth in recent years. China's huge market potentials have attracted more wine brands. But, the imported wines have not set foot on China's land in a real term. Among the imports, except very a few brands such as Teau Lafite and Castel, many of them are not familiar to Chinese consumers. The recognition of imported wines is not high among the Chinese consumers. As imported wines have not built up a leading brand to dominate the market, there will be diversified varieties, described as "a hundred flowers blossom" of imported wine products on China market in the future.

Experts predicted that China's wine production and consumption have taken on a "fast track" gradually, with the growth of output and consumption keeping the present speed. The wine production will maintain the present high degree of concentration, while more foreign brands of wine will enter the market, triggering off a fierce competition in the sector.

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Competition Among Foreign Hotels Heats up in China

By Yuwei Zhang
Sep 14, 2009

NEW YORK: While the hospitality industry has suffered along with the rest of the economy is most countries, China remains one of the few places that are ripe for hotel expansion.

"The economic environment, the increasing middle-income population in China, the increasing disposable income among the Chinese citizens and the fast development of infrastructure indicate the growth of China’s travel and tourism development in the years to come," said Zhao Jinlin, a professor of hospitality and tourism management at Florida International University.

It was with this in mind that several foreign hotel chains have decided to expand in China by way of rebranding.

Holiday Inn, a subsidiary of the InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG0, started a $1 billion relaunch campaign last year in China. And although the number of visitors to the Chinese mainland fell last year for the first time since 2003-an expected result following the 2008 Beijing Olympics-it is expected to rebound in the coming years.

"China has (surpassed the UK to) become IHG’s largest market outside of the United states," said Keith Barr, regional managing director of IHG for China. With more than 90 percent of its customers coming from within China, the importance of the country’s emerging middle class gives Holiday Inn confidence to continue to invest in China, he added.

The group operates 48 Holiday Inn hotels and 22 Holiday Inn Express hotels in China, with great concentration in cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. There are also another 60 Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels under development.

In addition to Holiday Inn, Hiltion is also aiming to add another 33 hotels in China. And earlier this year, Ramada Worldwide, part of the Wyndham Hotel Group, announced its continued expansion with two new hotels in China. One of which will be the world’s largest Ramada hotel

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How to Enter the Chinese Wine Market

From: www.cnwinenews.com
Sep, 2009

Wine is the sunrise industry in China. The annual increase rate of Chinese wine market is more than 20%, while the world's increase rate is less than 1%. Although the Chinese domestic wine brands take up more than 65% of Chinese wine market, the foreign wines are superior in the brewing technology, quality and even the cost performance. But, we often hear the foreign vintners complained that the Chinese wine market is so complicated that they can't deal with it. That is the common situation for the foreign vintners who are used to the occident's wine market. Many foreign vintners thought that good wine and low price would means good market. So, they come to China just seek for the imported wine agents who appreciate their wine. Unfortunately, it is difficult for them to find the suitable cooperation partners. Why?

There are several reasons as follows:

1. Due to the wine consumers who enjoy the imported wine is few and they distribute in the China, the imported wine are in buyer's market. Besides, there are few imported wine agents in China. Because the promotion cost is high in the prophase, it is risk for them to act as a new imported wine's agent. They will choose the foreign wineries with lots of consideration. So, it is not easy for the foreign vintners to find a suitable wine agent.

2. There are no the professional wine wholesalers in China. All the general agents should establish the distribution channel by themselves. Due to the low density imported wine customers, they should establish the cooperation relations with the domestic region and the other regions if they want to earn money. That is a hard work for them. Most of the imported wine agents in the market exploiting phase are cautious to import the new foreign wines. The mature imported wine agents have established a good distribution relations with the regional agents will be stricter in new wine choosing.

3. With the traditional consumption habit, most of the Chinese customers are low at wine appreciation, which cause only the wine of high recognition and promotion can sell well. Most of the imported wine agents, especially the new one, want to get the funds from the foreign wineries to do the wine promotion in the prophase in order to reduce the market risk. But, most of the foreign wineries are small with a low production. It is not actually for them to put a lot of money into the large Chinese wine market in brand publicizing and advertisement. That is the important obstacle for the foreign vintners to seek for the new cooperation partners.

4. The foreign wineries often see the participation of the wine exhibition in China as the basic channel for business recruiting, but the result of it is not good, such as the vinitaly China, which is the largest and most professional wine exhibition in China now and is held in Shanghai that has many imported wine agents. Due to the large territory of China, it is also difficult for them to seek for the suitable cooperation partners if they will only take part in the exhibition and not do some efficient preparation before the exhibition. However, the preparation only for the Italian wineries is not adequate. In fact, the foreign wineries who want to enter Chinese wine market should follow the three steps:

1. Command the market data and know the whole situation;

2. Make good plan and take efficient measure;

3. Choose the wine agents in earnest and support them.

So, knowing the Chinese wine market is the first thing for you to do. There are tow points for you to know the Chinese wine market. Firstly, you can get the information of Chinese wine market through the authority Medias and the professional wine market consulting organizations. Secondly, you should make sure whether your wine is suitable to enter Chinese wine market by the tasting judge who know Chinese wine market well and the Chinese professional wine market consulting company.

Next, you should make a plan of how to enter the Chinese market and the project for business recruiting. Before you do those things, you need to think over the suggestion and opinion of the wine export and the Chinese imported wine agents. Then take seriously to choose the suitable products to enter China, set down the rational price and the efficient market promotion.

The last thing is to seek for the suitable cooperation partners in China. That is the most important task. In order to choose the right agent, you should enlarge your communication. After you confirm the cooperation partner, you must do your best to support the Chinese agents to do the market promotion.

And bear this in mind: the high quality of the imported wine is the key for it to own a steady customer group in China while the low price channel is not the long strategic for the market. The foreign wine companies who want the enter China must harmonize with the Chinese culture, marketing strategic, market promotion and regional cooperation.

That is the necessary steps for you to enter China. In one word, doing well in the three steps above and plus the high quality, suitable price and favorable brand of the wine are the necessary things for you to succeed.

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How to Well Wine to China

By CHRIS ZAPPONE
Sep 18, 2009

Profiting from Chinese demand for Australian wine doesn't involve rocket science, said wine négociant Bede Doherty, but a knowledge of the Asian culture helps.

Mr Doherty sources wine from Australian vineyards and sells it through brands specially created for clients in the burgeoning Chinese market.

The key objective of his Melbourne-based company Bede Doherty & Associates is to create viable brands for Chinese buyers by supplying "a product-range that is custom-designed to attract positive attention and increasing sales in China specifically."

No small feat considering the gulf of difference between the Australian wine culture and the Chinese market. As a négociant - or dealer, brander and vendor of wine produced by smaller vineyards - Mr Doherty's business is on track to hit $1 million in revenues this year.

Nonetheless, catering to Chinese clients brings unique challenges.

‘Let's get sit down and get drunk together'

Branding, for which Mr Doherty works with a native-speaking Chinese consultant, is a critical, with factors that rarely matter elsewhere.

A perfectly appetizing name in the western world may in China bring to mind unpleasant images or connotations. Ditto with numbers in a culture that places great significance on the luck – or lack of it - associated with numbers.

For example, the English word "bin" used in a well-known Australian wine brand is similar to the word meaning "sick" in Mandarin. Western brands incorporating the number four may bring to mind the idea of "death," because the word and the number sound remarkably similar.

Australian wine makers oblivious to these differences may find their wines don't go very far in China.

Although a name like Bester, which will be used for a forthcoming brand, does not mean anything in English, it sits nicely in a market filled with brands such as Dragon Seal, Great Wall, and Xanadu Estate.

The meaning of the sub-brands on the label, the part that would give a region or grape type, can be blunt. One brand created and exported for China has a sub-brand name in English that is similar to the Chinese symbols for, "Lets get sit down and get drunk together."

Expectations

"The Chinese have a particular interest in owning the brand," Mr Doherty said, "because when they import established brands from overseas, those wine suppliers often expect sales to increase by a certain rate, especially into a country famous for its phenomenal growth."

For Australian and western companies producing household name brands in wine, there are expectations for the volume to be sold.

"It has been known for importers overseas to have brands taken away from them by the owners of the brands in the source country because they weren't able to keep up with sales expectations," he said.

In addition to the branding, Mr Doherty handles the production and legal issues related to wine importing which in turn allows Chinese customers to focus on the distributing their product.

Supply limits

Often Chinese importers wanting to start importing from Australian vineyards come up against supply limitations.

"The problem wineries have is that they run out of wine," Mr Doherty said. An interrupted supply forces importers in China to either find a suitable replacement, or to import a slightly different type of wine.

The disruptions in the importation process bring an added expense and difficulty.

Importers may have to register another type of wine to bring into the country. In some cases, it's enough to make the importer start the process again from scratch.

With Mr Doherty's services, the Chinese client typically takes control of the brand in China, while Mr Bede retains ownership of it in Australia.

Giving the example of the fictitious "Xylophone" brand Mr Doherty said the Chinese buyer would have to buy it from him because he owns the brand in Australia, which  protects his local competitors vying to fulfil his orders.

Quality control

Once the type of wine is settled upon with the client, Mr Doherty assures a steady consistent supply.

"It's a manufacturing process," he said. "One can adjust the alcohol and sugar and ph (level)."
Part of his job, conducted from his home in Melbourne, is to sample wines, checking for taste, acid, and other aspects of its chemistry, which can be adjusted if needed.

"I do the quality control for the customers," he said, adding that it's surprising how many people in the wine dealing business forget to keep samples of past vintages for future reference.

"I keep samples of the previous wine so I know what it tasted like," he said. "I can cross compare the new batch with the old batch."

"It's simple stuff. There's no rocket science in this at all."

Reds for China

The Chinese are primarily interested in red wine, using requesting it at $US20 a case, although Mr Doherty only sells at the US$30 a case level and above. The prices work out to about $US2-$US3 a bottle.

As an American living in Beijing explained, "There are a lot of western wines in China but of course, the market is still very undeveloped and immature."

Local wines may cost 20-40 renminbi ($3-7)  on a menu, whereas a cheap bottle of foreign wine would be around 80 renminbi ($14).

Nonetheless, demand for western wine is growing.

Last year, the China imported 25.1 million litres of Australian wine, a jump of 84.3 per cent from a year earlier, according to data from the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation.

Based on growth of that scale, the thirst for Mr Doherty's services should remain for some time.

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Spanish Vineyards Target China's Wine Drinkers

From www.cnwinenews.com
Sep 21, 2009

According to Robert Tinlot, Honorary General Manager of Spain's International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), China is set to eventually become the world's premier consumer market for wines and is already the fastest growing globally. He sees Hong Kong as the strategic gateway to unlocking that vast potential market, with the territory an established centre for wines in its own right.

The Spanish Wine Market Observatory (OEMV) shows wines exported to Hong Kong soared 80% in value to Euros300 million in the year to April 2009, rising 31% in sales.

That was mainly down to Hong Kong's abolition of its 40% duty on wine in February 2008, allowing global players to take advantage of the territory's logistics, finance and infrastructure capabilities to set up wine trades.

However, Spanish vineyards and distributors currently rank eighth as wine traders into Hong Kong, well behind market leaders France and the UK. The Director General of OEMV, Rafael del Rey, sees that position changing with Spanish companies more often holding presentations, tastings and symposia to increase their commercial networks.

Spanish distributors are prioritising their target markets as Hong Kong, Singapore and Chinese mainland coastal cities in Asia, as these have more progressive lifestyles and consumers possess greater discretionary purchasing power.

Wines from Spain could penetrate both the Chinese mainland quality and mass markets. Spanish distributors also expect to build sales for re-distribution from China to the rest of the region under different pricing approaches.

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Wine Tasting Success in Shanghai

——Australia China Connections
July/August 2009

In May, Austrade and the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation held its biggest China wine tasting event.

The one-day event held in Shanghai, attracted produce from 67 Australian producers including tastings from over 80 Australian wine brands and more than 400 wines.

This was the first year that Australian dairy and abalone products were included in the event.

The event profiled existing Australian wines, dairy and abalone products already on the market in China as well as new brands seeking Chinese distribution.

“Australia has a reputation for supplying clean and natural products with low chemical residues,” sail Austrade Trade Commissioner, Julie-Anne Nichols.

Australia is the world’s fourth largest exporter of wine and the number one exporter of wine by volume to the UK and the US.

“Every day more than two million bottles leave Australian shores for international markets. In the last year alone we have exported the equivalent of two million dozen bottles of wine to China,” said Ali Hogarth, Regional Manager for the AWBC.

Austrade hopes to co-ordinate a similar event in Beijing in 2010.

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Leading Food, Wine Matchmakers Face Off for China Sommelier Title

The battle for the honor of being Chinese mainland's supreme sommelier has been fierce and eight contestants will meet in the final next week. Aubrey Buckingham checks the chances of three Shanghai finalists.

The country's top sommelier will be picked from a pool of eight next week in the China National Sommelier Competition with the winner going on to represent the Chinese mainland in the first Association de la Sommelier International contest for the best in this craft in Asia and Oceania.

The finalists were selected after a grueling qualifying round held concurrently in Beijing and Shanghai last month. The 17 contestants were required to taste two wines blind and answer a number of multiple choice and short answer questions.

Competition was so fierce that the judges picked eight finalists instead of the intended six.

Leading Shanghai's charge in the finals, held at The Westin Bund Center Shanghai next Tuesday, are three promising young wine professionals——Pudong Shangri-La's Leon Jin, InterContinental Puxi's Diego Zhang, and Kee Club Shanghai's Vivian Tian, the country's first certified female sommelier.

The contest is not solely to pick the best wine waiter but also to raise the bar across the industry.

"I can see the competition will sort out a few good ones, which is what we're looking for," says organizer Tommy Lam, professor and director of the wine program at Tianjin University of Commerce.

"At the some time there will be a few with good potential but they will need more training and opportunity."

According to the Chaozhou (GuangdongProvince) native, who currently resides in Singapore, being a good sommelier requires "maturity, a very dedicated thinking that service is part of the game and regular practice." As sommeliers progress in their careers, they are also responsible for directing the wine program at their hotel or restaurant.

Language is also very important, and the contest will be conducted in English.

When you come to the international platform, you need a foreign language like English, French or Spanish.

Those are the international standards.

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China Aims to Build 10,000 Green Hotels in Four Years

Di Jiankai, the director of the Trade Service Division of China's Ministry of Commerce, has disclosed to the Chinese media that China will try to create 10,000 green hotels by 2012.

Of the 10,000 green hotels, 1,000 will be created in 2009, 2,000 in 2010, 3,000 in 2011 and 4,000 in 2012. These green hotels are expected to reduce water consumption by 20%, cut electricity consumption by 20%, and cut carbon dioxide emissions by 45,000 tons over four years.

Han Ming, a director of the China Hotel Association, told a recent conference that a national green hotel working commission has been established by the Ministry of Commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, The State-owned Assets Supervision, the Administration Commission of the State Council, the National Standards Commission, and the China Hotel Association. Han said that, from now on, five-leaf green hotels will be appraised by a national appraisal department and four-leaf and below hotels will be accredited by provincial level departments.

It is understood that the global financial crisis has had some negative effects on China's economic development. Statistics show that in the first four months of this year, China's accommodation and food industry achieved a revenue of CNY570.61 billion, which was an increase of 18.6% over the same period of last year, but the rate of increase declined by 5.2%.

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Double Happiness for Wine Lovers in Xuhui— 2 new store on tap

Aubrey Buckingham

While local tastes increasingly turn toward imported wines, actually buying the stuff is still a bit of a tricky proposition. While the number of specialist wine stores has in fact improved of late, the selection on offer has still been either limited to the usual suspects found everywhere else or simply cheap plonk barely worth the space used to store it.

The situation, however, is steadily improving, and this week saw the opening of two new stores with markedly different approaches. Both are retail arms of local distributors and are both located within the vast boundaries of Suhui District, but the similarities don't end there: Tianlin Road's Wine mall is a sprawling retail oulet aimed at bulk buyers of its selection ofOld and New World wines, while Ferguson Lane's Pudao: The Wine Way is a more modest space ideal for anyone looking to pick up a bottle or two on the way home.

With 600 square meters, Wine Mall is certainly one of the largest specialist wine stores in Shanghai. This may appear staggering, but it is a subtle reminder that size takes on a different context here when considering this is nowhere near the largest on the Chinese mainland — its sister operation in Wenzhou (Zhejiang Procince), opened in January, is twice the size at 1,200 square meters.

The store, part of the SVASurpassPark, currently lists about 500 to 600 labels and this is expected to swell to nearly 1,000 over the next 12 months. Most of the wines on offer are imported by Global Beverages Asia, which is the result of a merger between Shanghai Xingxia Trading and the stricken TBC.

While many key brands migrated to other distributors, the new company GBA has managed to consolidate its remaining portfolio, which includes brands such as Trios and Ironstone Vineyards and is pushing them through this massive retail space. It also hopes to work with more local distributors in coming months to add to its selection.

Aimed at young, local wine lovers, the project is spearheaded by retail marketing guru Stephen Kulmar. One of Australia and New Zealand's best-regarded experts in the field, Kulmar has taken his winning formulas from liquor stores such as Dan Murphy's and applied it here.

The wines are displayed in three distinct sections — a supermarket space where row upon row of wines are stacked together, an exhibition space where the top picks are given more prominence, and a seminar tasting room where top cuvees will be tasted and promoted.

According to marketing manager Joey Tan, the goal of Wine Mall is taking the mystery out of shopping for wine. Education will be of great significance, although the company has no qualified educators on the payroll. Instead, pamphlets with helpful tips on tasting and specially selected three packs will offer wine novices a no-frills, no confusion approach to enjoying the beverage.

This packages, which will change regularly and come with tasting notes for customers to reference as they sip on their purchases, offer a discount on buying all three wines separately.

As far as pricing goes, Wine Mall offers a three-tiered pricing structure — one price for a single bottle, another price for a mixed case of six bottles, while an event cheaper price charged for a straight half dozen bottles. Bottles start at 73 yuan (US$10.70) for a S. OrsolaSpumante (sparkling wine) and go up as rarer vintages are sought.

Customers who join the membership program will also be awarded one point for every yuan spent, which will be redeemable for more wine later. The mall also stocks wine paraphernalia, and has a walk-in cooler for cartons of beer and spirits.

Wine philosophy

Still in Xuhui District but closer to downtown is Pudao: The Wine Way. A 90-square-meter project from the owners of Summergate and replacing its Cellar Door home delivery program, the puntastic Pudao is an elegant, sophisticated solution for those who prefer to avoid supermarkets when buying wine.

Local wine lovers will instantly recognize Marcus Ford, previously restaurant manager at M on the Bund. The eloquent wine guru is in charge of not only promoting the 400-plus Summergate labels but also handpicking 150 labels from other distributors to fill in the cracks.

Unlike Wine Mall, Ford has no target demographic in mind, preferring to be as appealing to as many people as possible. He does, however, also talk of eliminating the mystique when buying wine, and has installed a number of “shortcuts” for the bewildered first-time buyer.

The first involves two Enomatic machines, the instantly recognizable wine dispensers that store wine under inert gases and allow for expensive wines to be sampled. Pudao members purchase a stored value card, and can pour themselves a tasting sample of one of 16 wines on offer. The current selection starts at 7 yuan for a tasting (38 ml) of Villa Wolf Riesling and goes up to 134 yuan for a thimbleful of Ridge Montebello.

The other shortcut also involves a mixed packaging, in this case of six bottles. Ford cherry picks the labels he fells go best together and sells them as a set; each pack also comes with tasting notes prepared by Ford himself.

The selection on offer reflects Summergate's position as one of the leading distributors in the country, although a few gaps do appear. Champagne, for example, is under-represented (especially compared to their neighbors Globus Wine) but in the coming months the company will announce the listing of Pol Roger. Pudao will also supplement this with Champagnes and sparklers from other houses, such as Ayala and Tattinger.

Ford has also selected a local wine, SilverHeights from Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, to be listed from next week. The wine costs about 200 yuan and is very reasonable for the Bordeaux blend with just 1,000 cases made.

The store also holds a temperature-controlled cellar, where more prestigious cuvees are on offer.

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How to Relieve Students of the Burden of Education

By Tan Yingzi

Zhang Min cannot relax even on weekends, for she has to rush her nine-year-old daughter to special classes.

"Almost all the kids in my daughter's class are learning Olympic math, English, or musical instruments…or other skills after school," Zhang said in Beijing yesterday.

Parents like Zhang believe the more special knowledge or skills their children acquire the greater will be their chance of getting admitted to a top secondary school.

Though this is more of a social problem, such parents will get some relief once schools start following the Ministry of Education's new directive.

According to a senior official, the ministry's latest document urges primary and secondary schools across the country to ease the academic burden on students.

Education departments at all levels have been asked to strengthen supervision, too.

And hopefully, parents will no longer lament like Zhang :" We've not enjoyed a weekend in years…we're under tremendous pressure…our energy is sapped."

Steps suggested by the ministry to make life easier for students include ensuring they get enough time to sleep and rest, avoiding holding extra classes after school or during holidays, having a one-hour period for physical training every day and reducing the number of exams.

The blind emphasis on academic achievement has been plaguing the education system for years, the ministry said.

The long hours of classes held in schools in many areas leave little time for students to exercise or pursue extra-curricular activities that they like.

Students are judged only by their academic record to qualify for the make-or-break college entrance exam.

Poor management in schools, lack of qualified teachers, unequal allocation of resources and an inadequate evaluation system add to the stress of the students, the ministry said.

"These go against our principle of providing basic education," said Yu Weiyue, director of the ministry's basic education department school management.

The principle of striving to develop students' all-round abilities in areas such as morals, intelligence, physical fitness, work and aesthetics "has not changed since the founding of New China, but people seem to ignore that nowadays", Yu said.

The problem continues despite the government's efforts to ease the burden on students, said Guo Zhenyou, deputy director of Chinese Society of Education.

The load on students is not just a problem of education, but a social ill, he said. The job market and social expectations from students, combined with the education system, pose a big challenge for society.

Employers focus on the academic record of candidates, which in turn reinforces the belief that getting a seat in a good university is a ticket to a promising job.

For Chinese parents, education is still the top priority because they believe it is the only way in which their offspring can prove their abilities.

"Students' burdens will ease only when society changes its attitude toward education as a whole," Guo said.

"But we have gained some useful experience… (which can) improve the quality of education…so more reforms can be expected."

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Savor Bulgarian Art, Yogurt and Wine and Smell the Rose

Xu Wei

A Bulgarian Art Week opening tomorrow at Shanghai Times Square offers an opportunity for people to get to know about contemporary Bulgarian culture.

The event, running through May 31, features 50 paintings by Kristina Thomsen and a miniature Bulgarian rose garden by Biofresh Cosmetics.

The event is organized by the Consulate General of Bulgaria and Shanghai Times Square.

Artist Thomsen Began to paint at an early age, graduated from art school, worked in animated films and later returned to fine art.

Her works, bathed in color, are bold and smooth at the same time. They are displayed in "Nudes," "Soul and Matter," "Adam and Eve" and "Collages." Her style ranges from academic to experimental, using new textures media and materials.

Half the proceeds of the painting sales will be donated to a migrant workers' training program of the Shanghai Charity Foundation and to the Rotary Club of Shanghai, according to Cathy Hau, deputy director of Shanghai Times Square.

Bulgaria is famous as Europe's "land of roses" and the Bulgarian rose yields a powerful essential oil that is fragrant, calming and purifying ­— the liquid gold of Bulgaria. Favorable climate, soil and organic agriculture yields high-quality oil.

Biofresh, the top cosmetic brand using Bulgarian rose, presents a small indoor garden of roses and displays natural rose oils, handmade rose soap and natural rose skin care products. Bulgarian music, wine and yogurt are on offer.

Bulgarian Art Week brings Bulgarian culture to the city and celebrates the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and China this year.

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Down Under wines come out on top

Nie Xin

The annual Wines of Australia Tasting, held in Shanghai last Friday, was a feast for both tastebuds and eyes. More than 70 Australian Brands — including over 300 wines —were brought to the event.

Wine maker and taster Ben Edwards, also president of the Australian Sommeliers Association, especially recommends wines from the Victoria region because they "speak of their origins, their people and, above all, their place."

"The cutting edge of Australia's finest wine, the best of the best, is alive in Victoria's vineyards and wineries," Edwards says. "In Australia, there is no other state beside Victoria that boasts a collection of wine this colorful or compelling. The diversity of Victoria's wine is striking.

"Across the 21 wine regions that span the state from east to west and north to south, Victoria produces wines in every conceivable style," Edwards says.

"A long-established history of grape vine cultivation, wine making and export success underpins the contemporary brands of Victorian wine producers," Edwards continues.

Some have dramatically transformed. The carefully considered paring of the right regions underscores the evolution of precisely refined wine styles, informed by world experience and internationally seasoned palates, according to Edwards.

"Cast an eye around the state including the state's capital Melbourne, a wine for every occasion and flavor can be discovered, from cool-climate sparklings to the rich opulent fortified styles and all that's in between," he says. "The most contemporary cool-climate style, from Riesling to chardonnay, pinot noir to shiraz, cabernet and beyond all stand tall on the world wine stage among the icons of Europe, New Zealand and the United States."

At the wine-tasting event, the 2007 De Bortoli Yarra Valley Estate Grown Pinot Noir brought some surprises. Full ruby red in appearance, it had an elegant pinot noir fruit aroma with red currants, a cherry and raspberry bouquet with a subtle spice and forest floor nose, It has a medium body but defining tannins.

"The 2007 growing season in Victoria was warm and dry, giving early development of fruit flavor at balanced alcohol levels," Edwards says.

The 2003 Heathcote Estate Heathcote Shiraz also left a deep impression. In bright purple-black, the ripe and powerful nose of prunes, liquorice, plums and chocolate with nuances of spice was quite attractive.

These flavors follow through on the palate, lovely supple soft tannins and a seamless oak integration with a long, lingering finish.

Women might prefer sweet wines, and the 2008 Brown Brothers Special Late Harvested Orange Muscat & Flora is one of the best.

It is a blend unique to Brown Brothers. Orange Muscat forms the backbone of the blend providing aromas of orange blossom to the nose and a fresh citrus hint to the palate, while the flora contributes color, texture and body to the palate.

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Firms ready for launch of GEM

Liang Yiwen

NEARLY 20 high-tech companies in Shanghai's ZhangjiangHigh-techPark are planning to apply to be listed on the country's upcoming Growth Enterprise Market, officials at the park said yesterday.

The companies, involved in the pharmaceutical and electronics industries, have made preparations for application and are competing to become the first batch of companies to be listed on the board as early as August.

The GEM is for smaller, cash-strapped technology companies that show solid growth.

"It's always difficult for our company, without real estate or huge equipment, to get loans from banks," said Liu Wei, operating director of Huaya Microelectronics Co Ltd, a company set up in the park in 2001.

"Listed companies find it easier to get loans as banks believe there are fewer risks in lending money to listed ones with a good reputation, compared to unlisted ones," Liu said.

Many companies also expect listing will help them retain professional staff, park officials said, with many companies promising to share equities among partners when they are first launched.

Nearly 80 companies in the park meet listing requirements, officials said. More than 40 are expected to sell shares to the public by the end of 2010, and nearly 20 of them are gearing up to be listed on the upcoming board.

China's securities watchdog released guidelines for the growth Enterprise Market in March.

The regulator didn't reveal a launch date for the new board but Yao Gang, vice chairman of the China Sccuriies Regulatory Commission, has hinted it could be in August.

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Ice Cream Chains Find Country Hot

By Ding Qingfen and Wang Xiaotian

International ice cream chains such as Dairy Queen, Baskin Robbins and Haagen-Dazs are aggressively expanding their networks in the country, despite a global economic downturn.

The US-based Dairy Queen (DQ), which had the largest network in China with 170 outlets by end-2008, is gearing up to add more this year.

"We plan to open an additional 100 stores in China this year. These will be located in 12 Chinese cities," said Echo Yang, marketing director of Shanghai Shida Catering Management Co Ltd (Shida), DQ's largest franchisee with more than 100 ice cream parlors nationwide.

DQ has three major franchisees in the country. Last year, Shida alone opened 46 new outlets. But, this year, "we will keep enhancing DQ's presence in China by annually doubling the number of new outlets", Yang Said.

In the first quarter of this year, Shida opened 20 DQ outlets in Shanghai, Wuhan, Chengdu and Xi'an.

Yang said the financial crisis has not hurt DQ's business. "You know the Lipstick Effect? The ice cream industry is similar to that-wherein sales of lipstick would rise even if there were an economic recession-as people are still willing to buy it. Ice creams are a good alternative to lipstick and satisfy a psychological need," he explained.

DQ is not the only one expanding. Baskin-Robbins, the world's largest ice cream chain, said recently that it would open 20 new outlets in major cities, including five in Beijing and 15 inShanghai and Xi'an.

The figure, although much smaller than that of DQ's, is double the company's previous estimate which called for opening 100 new outlets over the next 100 years.

Srinivas Dumar, Baskin Robbins' chief brand officer, attributes the expansion to contraction in the consumption of ice cream in the United States and Japan, its top two markets. Baskin Robbins has 2,700 outlets in the US and 930 inJapan. In the past seven years, Japan ranked first in Baskin Robbins' global development portfolio in terms of the number of new outlets opened annually.

But now the focus is shifting. "China will be our most important market, and the key growth engine," Kumar said.

According to Lin Xinbin, general manager of Stellerich Food & Restaurant Co Ltd, a franchisee of Baskin-Robbins in China, "the economic recession provides the ice cream chains a nice opportunity to expand".

Lin said rents for new outlets have decreased by at least 20 percent compared to the previous year.

Movenpick, the Swiss brand acquired by Nestle, entered China in 2006. It targets the high-end sector as Haagen-Dazs outlets, and sets up outlets in four-and five-star hotels only. Its China business has now been expanding beyond the first-tier cities to the second-tier like Xi'an, Shenyang and Sanya.

Despite a drop in the occupancy rate of hotels, Movenpick's sales "grew by double digits in the first quarter, and we are confident of delivering strong growth in 2009", said Olivier Jakubowicz, country business manager, Movenpick, Chinese mainland & Hong Kong.

Movenpick is also accessing alternative sales channels to drive growth. "Opening our own outlets could be one of the strategies to further build our brand awareness here," he said.

Haagen-Dazes said it witnessed a rise in sales by around 20 percent since January.

"We won't slow down the pace of expansion," Guo Yu, director of Public Relations, Haagen-Dazs China, told China Daily, predicting an annual salesincrease of"20 to 30 percent in 2009, the same as in previous years".

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Rich Vintage

Co-published article

Chinese consumers may have tightened their purse strings, but they haven't fallen out of love with wine

While all indications suggest that China's economic strength may allow it to skirt the most acute pains of the current financial crisis, many business owners are re-examining their expectations for growth and assessing their ability to weather the storm. Those working in China's burgeoning wine industry are no exception.

Despite the gloom and doom forecast by many market prognosticators, the long-term fundamentals for China's wine market remain strong. Summergate believes it is well positioned both to serve consumers in China and assist winemakers looking to establish a market presence.

While it is true that wine sales to hotels and restaurants have begun to slow, this has been offset to some extent by rising sales in supermarkets and other retail points This shift in buying patterns suggests that consumers have lost their appetite for drinking in restaurants and bars, but not for wine itself.

"It appears that Chinese consumers still believe that wine is an "affordable luxury,' worth buying in these times. But they are also trading down and looking for more value-for-money wines," said Brendan O'Toole, managing partner of Summergate.

Underlying strength

Wine consumption is closely linked to per capita GDP growth and, despite the current economic problems, China has several long-term factors working in its favor: A rising middle class, ongoing wealth creation, and a rapidly evolving consumer culture. As their financial lot improves, Chinese consumers will desire the trappings of a global, urbane lifestyle, and imported wines remain a potent symbol of those aspirations.

In 1995, the import market for still, bottled wines was a mere 41,500 units. Five years later, imports crossed the million-bottle mark and in 2007, they stood at 6.4 million. Imports are still concentrated by country of origin with France as the leader, but New World wines, from Australia, Chile and the US have made significant inroads into the China market. This suggests consumers are developing a taste for wines from across the globe that suit their palate.

Summergate has witnessed this growth first-hand. The company, which was founded nearly a decade ago, has grown into one of the country's leading distributors and marketers of wines. It didn't reach this point by watching from the sidelines. From its inception, Summergate has sought to educate the market about wine through a variety of methods, from writing articles for local media to hosting its popular wine tastings.

These regular events are targeted not only at end-consumers but also with the waiters, bartenders, and other members of the service staff at restaurants and hotels. The aim is to provide hospitality industry professionals with the tools to better serve their own customers.

Summergate also acts as a critical link to China for overseas suppliers, keeping them informed with the latest developments in the market so that they may grow their brand on the mainland.

A balanced portfolio

Given the current economic climate, the company expects consumers to gravitate toward more value-for-money wines. Indeed, low-cost wines priced at RMB150 (US$22) or below are seeing a surge in sales growth. While it is important to grow these value labels in order to meet customers' needs in the short-term, Summergate believes that its future lies in providing a range of wines suited for all budgets. Today, the company represents more than 60 wineries from 12 countries, including DBR Lafite, Concha y Toro, Antinori, Ridge, Catena, Yalumba and d'Arenberg.

"Making wine, as well as importing and distributing wine, is all about long-term decisions and branding," said Ian Ford, managing partner of Summergate. "The upmarket strategy that so many winemakers have embraced is taking a short-term hit, but will benefit these brands in the long term and cement their presence in China."

The Lafite story

One need look no further than the continued success of DBR Lafite in China for proof that an upmarket strategy can yield results. DBR Lafite has become China's strongest wine brand by targeting consumers who aspire to a more cosmopolitan, sophisticated lifestyle. Consequently, the brand has seen phenomenal growth this year, despite its price.

"We have been working hard strategically in developing ways we can capitalize on the current situation while keeping our eye on the long-term brand position in China," Ford said.

Summergate is able to do this by leveraging its deep level of expertise and knowledge of the China wine market. It can also count on strong relationships with its wine suppliers, and is viewed as a reputable and honest player. The numbers appear to confirm this underlying faith in Summergate's brand: While others may be struggling, Summergate has recorded its highest sales in history over the past five months.

The company currently operates in five cities in China and will be establishing a presence in Hong Kong this summer. In addition, the Summergate owners have invested separately in a retail entity led by Marcus Ford-one of the visionaries behind Shanghai's famous M on the Bund restaurant-that will partner with Summergate on retail sales. The new venture is set to launch in Shanghai, but will expand nationwide.

Put together, these efforts represent Summergate's goal to consolidate its long-term position in the China market and help nuture new generations of wine lovers.

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