Major international brands in high-fashion and household goods are keen to identify themselves with the new lifestyles of an increasingly prosperous segment of the mainland population, especially in the major cities and coastal regions.

At the 6th China Daily CEO Roundtable Conference themed "Lifestyle China" held on Friday in Hong Kong, representatives of several well-known international luxury brands agreed that it is important they are seen as an integral part of the lifestyle of successful business people and professionals rather than just luxury goods.

"And the key is to translate desire into purchase," says Christina Hudson, marketing director of the consumer marketing division of DTC Asia Pacific Ltd.

As they strive to achieve a modern lifestyle, many Chinese consumers also have to wrestle with many choices nowadays. For instance, they may consider whether they should buy a car, a diamond, or a house first, because luxury goods lump together with household electrical appliances and other consumer durables.

"It's all about lifestyle especially when it comes to luxury goods," says Caroline Roberts, store director of Dolce & Gabbana Hong Kong Ltd. Why would Chinese consumers spend 12,000 yuan (US$1,446) on a famous-brand handbag when the average monthly salary might be at 3,000 yuan (US$361.45)? According to Roberts the answer is simple it is the lifestyle you desire.

Her company, she adds, constantly arranges overseas training for Chinese staff to give them a real touch of Western lifestyles. By so doing, the company hopes its staff can share their own experience of modern lifestyles with their Chinese customers.

For Beijing, November is a time when a hundred brands are blossoming a hundred bright-coloured luxury brands.

The downtown Oriental Plaza, a place visited by 200,000 customers daily during weekends, opened its new shopping arcade to showcase the world's high-end consumer items.

Just a week after that, an international jewelry show is being staged, where foreign merchants are for the first time allowed to directly cut wholesale and retail deals with their Chinese counterparts. The show only changed its name to "international" in 2003.

Not just Beijing, in Shanghai, as the official Xinhua News Agency reported, the world's third largest Christian Dior centre opened around the same time. Third only in time sequence after similar outlets were opened in Paris and then Tokyo.

Prior to its upgrading, the Shanghai Dior centre was already generating 11 million yuan (US$1.3 million) in annual sales. And the management reportedly hopes to raise the figure to over 15 million yuan (US$1.8 million).

Not very far and not long ago, LV, Giorgio Armani, E. Zegna all opened their trendy flagship stores in China.

Not just Beijing and Shanghai, but the entire Chinese mainland is being targeted. Chinese cities are being bombarded by the world's most expensive brands, from fashion to jewelry to cars.

By You Nuo