about best of the best 2006

What lifestyle do China's entrepreneurs aspire to? How do they spend all their legendary cash? Hurun Report's second annual Survey of China's Richest seeks to address these questions in the largest and most authorative survey of its kind. With data collected in a one-on-one basis from 589 Mainland Chinese with wealth of RMB 10 million or more (177 of them with RMB 100 million or more), Hurun Report is proud to announce the results at the Awards Ceremony on January 11 and in a Special Issue of the magazine. The products and services of the winners of our awards tell the story of the growth of China's new rich class from another angle.

Luxury brands rely heavily on local agents to represent them in each region and it was with this in mind that the Hurun Report expanded the 2006 Awards to include nine individual regions (Shanghai, Beijing, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, North-East China, Shanxi, Shandong and Sichuan/Chongqing) as well as an overall prize for the country. The results turned up some surprises, demonstrating the importance of a strong local agent.

Whilst European brands may have won the lion's share of the 2006 Awards, Wuliangye and Moutai stand out as stewards of Chinese culture and history. In a recent visit to their breweries deep in the mountains of Sichuan and Guizhou, I was given a rare insight into the dominance of these 'baijiu' or Chinese liquor brands. Able to trace their history back hundreds if not a thousand years, what stood out was their 'pure' homegrown history, a refreshing take in a country where so many products and services sell themselves as imitations of Western ideals.

Awards Dinner - click here