Is Beijing the trendiest city in China?

[skylee]

On the TV there was a report on tourists from the provinces joining the Olympics craze and shopping crazy in Beijing.

Which reminded me that, when I visited Pingyao earlier this year, a hotel staff said to me, "Oh your necklace is so pretty. Are you from Beijing?"

My question is, do mainlanders generally consider Beijing the trendiest city in China? I was actually a bit surprised that the hotel staff didn't ask if I was from Shanghai or Hong Kong.

[BrandeX]

To me, people usually say "Shanghai", as for mainland. However here in Guangdong, as you no doubt know, it is usually considered HK.

[SkyFitsHeaven]

Not by a long shot. Beijing has some really nice trendy shopping malls now but there's never anyone in them. I agree that Beijing is considered the hot spot for fashion.

[Senzhi]

However here in Guangdong, as you no doubt know, it is usually considered HK.

And if we consider purely the mainland, then in Guangdong I'd go for Shenzhen.

[xuechengfeng]

If we're speaking from a standpoint of trendy stores, then I'd agree Beijing would be trendiest. If we're speaking actual fashion sense, then I'd say absolutely not. Most people I see on the streets have zero fashion sense, especially when compared to Shanghai or HK.

[imron]

C'mon, you mean to say that rolling-up your shirt to expose your belly isn't trendy?

[Senzhi]

C'mon, you mean to say that rolling-up your shirt to expose your belly isn't trendy?

Depends ... male or female?

[skylee]

But do tourists from the other provinces, say Shangxi, consider Beijing very trendy? If not why would they be shopping in Beijing? Things in Beijing are not cheaper than in other places, right?

Or perhaps I've totally mistaken the message of the hotel staff who probably just tried to tell me that I have zero fashion sense.

[HashiriKata]

Or perhaps I've totally mistaken the message of the hotel staff who probably just tried to tell me that I have zero fashion sense.

Hotel staff are usually very polite, aren't they?

()

[Luobot]

Shanghai is considered a pretty trendy place nowadays, but on an everyday basis (apart from going out or going to work), most people in Shanghai seem to dress casually (sometimes too casually, like in their PJ’s). In HK, men and women all dress well. In fact, the everyday, casual style in HK would be considered formal by NYC standards. Women, regardless of their salary or position in an HK office, seem to carry the most fashional bags per capita. When all is said and done, HK is the trendiest city in China and the greatest shopping mall in the world. But no matter where you’re from, I guess the shopping always seems better somewhere else.

As to what constitutes fashion sense – I agree with Imron’s post # 6

[imron]

Things in Beijing are not cheaper than in other places, right?

Nope, usually more expensive. Perhaps that's what makes it trendier?

[gougou]

Maybe they have more visitors from Beijing in Pingyao than from HK or Shanghai, so it was the first place that came to the hotel staff's mind? I would imagine that for many people in the North, Beijing is the best city in pretty much anything, because Shanghai (not to mention Hong Kong) is just too far out of their sphere of awareness.

[lilongyue]

I would imagine that for many people in the North, Beijing is the best city in pretty much anything, because Shanghai (not to mention Hong Kong) is just too far out of their sphere of awareness.

I agree. I live in Hangzhou, and Beijing isn't held up as a standard for anything here. It's far away, and besides the Olympics, I rarely hear people talk about it. But with Shanghai only a short trip away, it's the city I hear spoken of most often. People from Hangzhou go to Shanghai for the weekend, and vice-versa.

As is probably true for Beijing in the north, there isn't anything for miles, and miles, and miles down here that can even come close to Shanghai. Hangzhou is unique, but can't be put in the same category as Shanghai. So, other than Shanghai, or Beijing in the north, what city is going to have a reputation for anything other than town X being known for it's leather/shoes/belts exports, etc.? Most cities, second tier and smaller, that I've seen all seem to offer pretty much the same thing: the local McDonalds, KFC, movie theater, strip mall, KTV and odd historical monument. Living in a city with not much more than that to offer, I think most Mainlanders naturally look to the biggest of cities as the center, or leader, of everything.

HKers, generally speaking, do have a different sense of style than Mainlanders. The person in the hotel probably sensed something different about you, and was trying to place it, Skylee.