Vancouver as a selling point in Mainland China

[Kwik-E-Mart]

Earlier in the afternoon I was having fun looking at a Mainland Chinese photographer's (he's only one-armed too) galleries on SW BC and the tulips in Mt. Vernon. Then all of a sudden a sales ad came up, touting a development called "Vancouver 1792" in Xiangfan of Hubei province in Central China. Given all the talk about Mainlanders and real estate prices in Vancouver, I began to do a search out of curiosity for all completed and planned developments in the Middle Kingdom with the Vancouver monkier.

Without further do, here they are (so far)!

[NOTE: All websites are in Chinese unless otherwise noted. Nonetheless you can still click on the the pics so see them in detail. Pictures courtesy of the links provided below]

[EDIT: Damn, looks like I can't edit the title of the thread to avoid political reprucussions after adding Taiwan developments in the next post.]

Vancouver Forest - Beijing (CMHC is a participant in the project to help BC lumber companies entering the Chinese market)



Vancouver International Place - Anyang, Henan (image courtesy of bbs.0372.cn)



Vancouver Estates - Xinyang, Henan



Vancouver Square - Zhengzhou, Henan



Vancouver Times Square - also in Zhengzhou, Henan (Teaming up with Ivanhoe Cambridge)



Vancouver 1792 - Xiangfan, Hubei



Vancouver Gardens - Qingdao, Shandong



Vancouver Square - this time in Chengdu, Sichuan (Szechuan)



Vancouver Garden Residences - also in Chengdu, Sichuan



Vancouver South Gardens - again in Chengdu, Sichuan



Lake Scenery - Hangzhou, Zhejiang (claimed to be inspired by "Vancouver's Garden City Concept")

[Kwik-E-Mart]

Looks like the ROC has "Vancouver" developments too!

[NOTE: All websites are in Chinese unless otherwise noted. Nonetheless you can still click on the the pics so see them in detail. Pictures courtesy of the links provided below]

[EDIT: Oops, looks like I can't edit the title of the thread to avoid political reprucussions after adding Taiwan developments.]

Taichung Vancouver Mansions - Taichung



Vancouver Gardens - Taipei

[vansky]

if any of these develops resemble anything about this city, that woudl be the name. mainland chiense think van is the new york of canada, which it is, unless toronto claims itself to be the one of course,hahaha

anyways, the reason why these things have this city's name on them is because chinese like foreign titles attached to watever there exists, to show class and toronto is almost unheard in this part of the universe.

i suspect there is a sydney square, a london plaza, a new york plaza, or munich street somewhere in most major cities.

this is how much foreign affected the people are sometimes...anyways

show you guys a translation of Vancouverism described by the HANGZHOU development,

Following the blue print of V ancouver's low density "high class" life style,
we pay deep respect to the moutains and lakes. Knowing how Vancouverites live, we bring creative low
density life style to Hangzhou. Here, we advocate homogeneousness and individualism, communication and enviroment. You can find feelnigs of uniqueness,welath and class in this design.

this is a good example, but the one with the name on top of the shitty skyscraper is way off....could be a apartment found in west end

[Kwik-E-Mart]

Originally Posted by vansky

if any of these develops resemble anything about this city, that woudl be the name. mainland chiense think van is the new york of canada, which it is, unless toronto claims itself to be the one of course,hahaha

anyways, the reason why these things have this city's name on them is because chinese like foreign titles attached to watever there exists, to show class and toronto is almost unheard in this part of the universe.

i suspect there is a sydney square, a london plaza, a new york plaza, or munich street somewhere in most major cities.

The closest is Vancouver Forest, which does resemble some homes in the West Side.

It's perfectly normal to see properties named after alpha-level cities (London, Paris, Sydney, etc.). Yes, there are a lot of Chinese living in Vancouver, but the brand is very strong over on the other side of the Pacific.

Anyhow, back to the listings:

[NOTE: All websites are in Chinese unless otherwise noted. Nonetheless you can still click on the the pics so see them in detail. Pictures courtesy of the links provided below]

Vancouver City - Huaibei, Anhui



Vancouver Building - Zhengzhou, Henan



Vancouver Villas - once again in Zhengzhou, Henan (That's four for Zhengzhou! The pic below is a complex named "Buchart Gardens.")



Vancouver International Gardens - Lianyungang, Jiangsu



Vancouver Exclusive Area - Suzhou, Jiangsu

[Kwik-E-Mart]

More "Vancouvers" in Taiwan!

[NOTE: All websites are in Chinese unless otherwise noted. Nonetheless you can still click on the the pics so see them in detail. Pictures courtesy of the links provided below]

[EDIT: Damn, looks like I can't edit the title of the thread to avoid political reprucussions after adding Taiwan developments.]

West Vancouver Mountain Villas - Taichung (Whoa... A first for West Van!)



Vancouver Rose Gardens - New Taipei (wasn't able to get additional info as the listing was taken down and no pics are available at the moment)

Vancouver The Beautiful - also in New Taipei (again wasn't able to get additional info as the listing was taken down, but the pic is still available below - courtesy of houseol.com.tw)



The Vancouver - Taipei




Updates from the Mainland:

Huadong - Vancouver - Luohe, Henan (I find it funny to market Vancouver with Chinese calligraphy)



Zhoukou Vancouver International Hotel - Zhoukou, Henan (Not a residential development, but still it tries to reap in $$$ using the Vancouver brand.)



Lidao Mancheng(麗島漫城　－　roughly "Romantic City on a Beautiful Island") - Wuhan, Hubei (Just like the development in Hangzhou, it claimed to be inspired by "Vancouver's architecture and history.")



Sky Ocean City - Beijing (touted as a "Vancouver-styled international community in cooperation with the City of Vancouver.")



So far, the Vancouver tallies are as follows:

PRC

Zhengzhou (Tier 2 city) - 4
Chengdu (Tier 1/2) - 3
Beijing (Tier 1) - 2
Qingdao (Tier 2) - 1
Suzhou (Tier 2) - 1
Hangzhou (Tier 1/2) - 1
Lianyungang (Tier 3) - 1
Anyang (Tier 3/4) - 1
Xinyang (Tier 4) - 1
Xiangfan (Tier 3) - 1
Luohe (at most Tier 4) - 1
Zhoukou (at most Tier 4) - 1
Wuhan (Tier 1/2) -1
Huaibei (Tier 4) - 1

ROC

New Taipei - 2
Taipei - 2
Taichung - 2

[vansky]

we r a gamma on global scale, but leading alpha in terms of living, there is not a big enough economy for van to become a truel global player, other than that, it scores high for almost everything. so livability is the true marketing, only thing is that you cannot offer van's living taking away the whole enviroment, it'st he air and the smell of grass that makes this city feel better than almost anywhere else...damn..hahaha

i live in shanghai right now, which is good in terms of pollution level. if you can find good air, that is inside an air conditioning room.

[Kwik-E-Mart]

vansky: I agree with what you said, however I am amazed at the level of obsession by people from both sides of the Taiwan Strait on Vancouver. Regardless of truth or fact about what the city acutally is, just mentioning the word "Vancouver" will give them infinite imagination.

Moving on...

No wonder it feels more like Canada, CMHC's involved in the Vancouver Forest project in Beijing

[NOTE: All websites are in Chinese unless otherwise noted. Nonetheless you can still click on the the pics so see them in detail. Pictures courtesy of the links provided below]

Zhuyucheng(主語城 - Now this one is tough to translate properly) - Beijing (Obviously Vancouver-styled given James KM Cheng's involvement - bringing "the authentic Vancouver experience" to Beijing)



Banff Spring - Suzhou, Jiangsu (It's Banff-related, but "inspired by Vancouver-styled North American experience")




Updates from the other side of the Taiwan Strait:


Guilin Gardens - Taoyuan (The Vancouver lifestyle is heavily marketed in the website, although ironically the name bears no resemblance to the place)




Vancouver No. 6 - New Taipei (Too bad I wasn't able to find any pics on the project other than the listing site)

Chuanjiabao (傳家堡 - Another tough one to translate) - Taoyuan (This blog post mentioned how the sales pamphlet talked about the building was "inspired by faux-Vancouver architecture." Unfortunately pic linking is not allowed.)

The Vancouver Grand - New Taipei (Not an official website; contains database of buildings constructed by this company)

It's tally time!

PRC

Zhengzhou (Tier 2 city) - 4
Chengdu (Tier 1/2) - 3
Beijing (Tier 1) - 3
Suzhou (Tier 2) - 2
Qingdao (Tier 2) - 1
Hangzhou (Tier 1/2) - 1
Lianyungang (Tier 3) - 1
Anyang (Tier 3/4) - 1
Xinyang (Tier 4) - 1
Xiangfan (Tier 3) - 1
Luohe (at most Tier 4) - 1
Zhoukou (at most Tier 4) - 1
Wuhan (Tier 1/2) -1
Huaibei (Tier 4) - 1

ROC

New Taipei - 4
Taipei - 2
Taichung - 2
Taoyuan - 2

[crazyjoeda]

I think it's important to point out that Vancouver is not a "Gamma City" as several comments have suggested.

The Globalization and World Cities Research Network, the organization that ranks cities in terms of global influence has long listed Vancouver as "Beta +".

[Kwik-E-Mart]

Originally Posted by crazyjoeda

I think it's important to point out that Vancouver is not a "Gamma City" as several comments have suggested.

The Globalization and World Cities Research Network, the organization that ranks cities in terms of global influence has long listed Vancouver as "Beta +".

Danke for the correction.

Talking about Vancouver Villas in Zhengzhou, the developer not only created its own version of "Robson Street", it has even replicated the Gastown Steam Clock!

[NOTE: All websites are in Chinese unless otherwise noted.]

[duener]

Originally Posted by Kwik-E-Mart

Danke for the correction.

Talking about Vancouver Villas in Zhengzhou, the developer not only created its own version of "Robson Street", it has even replicated the Gastown Steam Clock!

[NOTE: All websites are in Chinese unless otherwise noted.]

Ha ha thanks for the link to the steam clock. I see the photos show empty streets as usual.

I wonder what the lifespan of all this construction in China will be. Sounds like their economy is starting to unravel. Reminds me of the last time I flew out of Dubai and looked down to see "the World" development melting into the sea. "Look on my works ye mighty and despair!"

[Kwik-E-Mart]

Another edition of the "Vancouver Magazine" by the same developer featuring White Rock, regrettably the first pic you see in the article instead features Nova Scotia's Peggy's Cove.

Meanwhile, Vancouver's clean air is being marketed in this air filtration system advertisment. (although even I have difficulties deciphering what it is really talking about.)

[NOTE: All websites are in Chinese unless otherwise noted.]

[hollywoodnorth]

great thread thanks for your work!

[cornholio]

Thanks. Very interesting.

[vansky]

Originally Posted by crazyjoeda

I think it's important to point out that Vancouver is not a "Gamma City" as several comments have suggested.

The Globalization and World Cities Research Network, the organization that ranks cities in terms of global influence has long listed Vancouver as "Beta +".

yes, that's what i meant, wwrogn wording,

the funny thing is that this city mentioned smoewhere in almost every ranking. that means its reputation is beyond its actual importance, almost every other city on the lists r bigger and more powerful in terms of economy and influence, but everyone i know thinks van is actually a big city, medium..in reality

but reputation is more important in asia than reality, so i guess vancouver is a dream just by its livabiilty and name~~~

[easy as pie]

wow, much of your research and postings here has been lifted and reposted here: http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2012/05/v...ainland-china/

that has to be annoying, but you can chuckle to yourself when the vancouver sun or global pick it up.

[Pinion]

Let's set up a ZhengCity Buzz website and copy VanCity Buzz for maximum irony.

[Kwik-E-Mart]

After all the research I have done in the past weekend, there is no doubt that Vancouver businesses, not just real estate, have an advantage when entering the Chinese market. This is especially true when the city is being equated with clean air and a green lifestyle, and thus is being placed in the upper end of the consumer spectrum.

There are three trends happening in these two regions:

1. Taiwan's "Vancouver" developments are scattered over the past 15 years, which coincides with the immigration wave from that part of the world beginning in the early 90s (although it has subsided recently).

2. We are seeing development in the Mainland more towards the last 3-4 years, which also lies in the same period of increased immigration from that area. The Winter Olympics and romantic dramas filmed in Vancouver (such as "So Long, Vancouver!") imo provide a nice layer of icing on the cake.

3. For some unknown reason most of the so-called "Vancouver" developments in the Mainland are concentrated in Henan. Maybe it's because of the positive reception from projects in the provincial capital of Zhengzhou?

[jsbertram]

We can't do much about having the "Vancouver" name and brand being used & abused around the world to sell shoddy real estate developments.

Fortunately we CAN prevent these examples of bland design from appearing in our neigbourhoods.

[Kwik-E-Mart]

Originally Posted by Pinion

Let's set up a ZhengCity Buzz website and copy VanCity Buzz for maximum irony.

I took the high road as people before me have pointed out the fact at VCBuzz. Nonetheless I left a message there just to let them know of my presence and awareness about it.

[Kwik-E-Mart]

Thank you Gordon Price for featuring the thread in PriceTags!

http://pricetags.wordpress.com/2012/...medium=twitter