20萬國人英國狂掃貨 十一黃金週消費5億磅

Struggling under the weight of packed bags from luxury stores including Prada and Louis Vuitton, Amy Jiang pauses for breath. Theglittering mall is doing a brisk trade, with queues thronging the popular shops and the most sought-after fashion items selling out fast.
在英國的Prada和LV店裏瘋狂掃貨之後，中國女孩艾米決定停下來稍作休息。這些閃閃發光的奢侈品店生意相當好，店裏購物的人羣排長隊，熱銷的單品頃刻就賣光了。

Giggling, Amy inspects her purchases, including a £1,010 bubblegum-pink Miu Miu cashmere sweater, a black Gucci cocktail purse costing £430, a £335 Vuitton shawl and a Prada robot key-chain costing a mere £115.
艾米滿意地看着自己的“戰利品”：粉紅色的Miu Miu羊絨毛衫，價格1010英鎊（約1萬人民幣）；黑色Gucci晚宴手拿包，價格430英鎊（約4200元人民幣）；LV的圍巾，價格335英鎊（約3300元人民幣）；Prada機器人鑰匙扣，價格115英鎊（約1140元人民幣）。

Like thousands of other Chinese nationals she is in the UK during Golden Week, China’s national anniversary holiday — and a full-on British shopping spree is how to celebrate.
和其他來英旅遊的中國人一樣，在這個中國國慶的黃金週裏，艾米他們通過在英國瘋狂購物來慶祝這一節日。

This year is London’s busiest Golden Week ever, with more than 200,000 Chinese estimated to visit, bringing a welcome boost of around half a billion pounds to our economy.
今年有倫敦最忙的一個黃金週，預計約有20萬中國人來這裏旅遊，同時帶來的還有5億英鎊的經濟增長額。

This year, the People’s Republic of China celebrates its 65th anniversary, during which the whole nation gets three days paid holiday for Golden Week. Its government started the tradition in 1999 to boost domestic tourism, but since then it has become the fashion for the wealthier inhabitants to fly abroad.
今年是中華人民共和國建國65週年，國慶黃金週的七天裏，包括3天的帶薪休假。這樣的休假方式始於1999年，目的是促進中國國內旅遊業，但從那時開始這個假期也同時成爲了中國有錢人海外購物的狂歡節。

China’s economy has been booming in recent years. Its purchasing power is set to exceed that of the U.S. this year, and is on track to become the number one global economy by the early 2020s. In short, it has produced some seriously wealthy young things, eager to spend their cash.
近年來中國的經濟增長迅猛，其購買力也將在今年超過美國，預計到本世紀二十年代初期，中國經濟將躍居全球第一。總之，中國富有的年輕人越來越多，他們急切地要花出錢包裏大筆的鈔票。

Myf Ryan, director of marketing in the UK and Europe for Westfield, says that China have become ‘the number one international market to visit Westfield London, particularly The Village — the luxury area of the mall.
威斯菲爾德的英國和歐洲市場營銷主管萊恩稱，中國是倫敦威斯菲爾德購物中心排名第一的國際市場，尤其吸引中國遊客的是購物中心內的奢侈品區。

Westfield’s Cantonese-speaking concierge service is designed to cater to the every whim of its wealthy visitors. The concierge confirms the Chinese are distinct from other nations, with their own cultural mores: ‘They are very organised and plan their trip day by day, hour by hour. They have done their research, and brand-wise they know what’s on-trend.
威斯菲爾德購物中心提供粵語服務就是爲了迎合中國的有錢遊客。店員稱中國人不同於其他國家的遊客，他們有着自己的購物習慣。“他們非常有條理，計劃好了每天每時每刻的行程安排。他們來之前就做好了調查，知道哪些牌子哪些款式最流行。”

Unlike Middle Eastern shoppers — who make a similar annual splurge in the capital in the summer, nicknamed the Ramadan Rush — the Chinese don’t usually drive around in flash cars making outrageous displays of wealth. Instead, they’ll take public transport, or — in the case of those descending on Bicester Village, the discount luxury retailer in Oxfordshire — go by coach.
中東有錢的購物者每年夏天也都會來倫敦大購物一次，被稱爲“齋月高峯”。與他們不同，中國的購物者通常並不會開着豪車四處炫富。他們會使用公共交通，比如乘坐大巴車到比斯特購物村或是牛津的奢侈品零售打折店裏掃貨。

But like the Middle Eastern tourists, they do spend unbelievable amounts of money.
但和中東遊客相同的是，中國人的花錢數額也相當驚人。

It’s little wonder retailers refer to this Chinese custom as ‘The Great Wallets of China’.
所以商家稱中國人有“中國的大錢包”也不足爲奇。

Kirsty Du and Han Zhun from Beijing have spent two hours in the Louis Vuitton store in Westfield’s luxury Village area, examining every bag they could lay their hands on.
來自北京的杜和寒已經在威斯菲爾德購物中心奢侈品區的LV店裏呆了兩個多小時了，他們仔細檢查着想買的每一個包。

They have bought two — a clutch and a wallet — and spent more than £3,000. They’re off to Gucci next.
最後他們花了3000英鎊（月2.9萬元人民幣）買了一個手拿包和一個錢包。他們的下一站是Gucci店。

Harrods is a must-see destination for Chinese visitors, who can converse easily with the 100 Mandarin-speaking staff.
哈羅德百貨商店是中國遊客必去的一個地方，這裏可以輕鬆找到說標準普通話的店員。

Harrods, like many luxury stores, now takes the CUP or China Union Pay card, which allows Chinese customers to see and complete the transaction in their own currency.
和其他奢侈品店一樣，哈羅德百貨商店裏也可以使用中國的銀聯卡結賬了，這使得中國遊客可以用人民幣直接結算。

These eager shoppers touch everything. In Selfridges’ watch department, one Chinese man is mulling over a £60,000 black number by Panerai while another girl tries to choose between a white-strapped Jaeger LeCoultre and an IWC, both more than £10,000.
急切購物的中國遊客幾乎對所有商品都感興趣。在塞爾福裏奇百貨的手錶店裏，一位中國男士在精挑細選一款價格爲6萬英鎊（約59萬人民幣）的Panerai手錶，而另一名年輕女孩在一款白色積家手錶和一款萬國手錶間舉棋不定，這兩款價格都超過1萬英鎊（約9.9萬人民幣）。

As Myf Ryan puts it: ‘The Chinese love luxury.’
正如萊恩說的那樣：“中國人熱愛奢侈品。”

And, of course, in London, luxury loves them right back.
所以當然，在倫敦，奢侈品也同樣熱愛中國人。