Rotorua on the Qinhuai

Exploring China's developing Rotorua Town is a bizarre experience for a Kiwi, writes Susan Pepperell. But she discovers namesake housing compounds in China are becoming popular among the well-heeled as its economy booms with perks for all concerned. Pictures by Peter Drury.

WITH the mountain at your back and the river in your front, the feng shui it is said can bring "very good fortune".

What happens to the feng shui when Prime Minister Helen Clark is on a continuous loop video somewhere in the middle is not immediately apparent.

But her voice echoing in a huge reception area repeatedly greeting visitors to this housing development on the outskirts of the Chinese city of Nanjing home to six million people and two hours by train from Shanghai is not the most curious thing about this pristine complex. That belongs to its name: Rotorua Town.

Rotorua Town is an upmarket gated and guarded housing compound aimed at well-heeled Chinese of which there is rapidly increasing membership. It is being built by the Moon Building Group, 50 per cent owned by the Chinese Government. And yes, it is named after Rotorua, features buildings based on Rotorua architecture, landscaping based on Rotorua plantings and cobblestones that mimic Rotorua's streets. There's even a replica albeit rather downmarket Lakeland Queen docked on the edge of the river; the real one plies Lake Rotorua on sightseeing trips, this one will become a restaurant for residents only.

For a Kiwi in China, finding a recognisable part of New Zealand is a bizarre experience. But these kinds of developments are becoming more popular in this huge country as China's economy booms.

There's also a London Town, Cambridge Town, various European city borrowings and the distinct possibility of a Waitomo popping up soon.

The potential for New Zealand tourism and other businesses is almost unquantifiable and comes with virtually no risk.

Rotorua Town was named by Moon's largest shareholder and prolific world traveller Li Shun Xiang. His first visit to Rotorua some years ago left him believing the city offered something he had not found anywhere else.

"Rotorua gave him a good feeling," says Li Chen Yu, his loyal employee.

"It relaxed him and made him feel very comfortable. He thinks the Chinese people work too hard and he wanted to bring the Rotorua lifestyle to this area."

So he has. Sort of. It's no replica of Rotorua but it is the Chinese version that borders the Qinhuai River and has a mountain nearby that bears a strong resemblance to Rotorua's Mt Ngongotaha.

Eventually this meticulously planned development will be home to 5000 people living either in houses or one of several apartment blocks.

Twelve months ago it was a bare block of land. Things move quickly in China, particularly in the building industry. Old apartment buildings are demolished in a morning and new multi-storey block erected in a few weeks. Li Chen Yu insists 12 months "is really slow for us". But at the height of building, 1000 workers a day were employed on site in three shifts with construction going on around the clock.

That's all been deliberately slowed down now as the Moon Group plays the market but the aim is to have it completed within three years.

In the next couple of months the first residents will move into the 38 houses built for stage one of the project. These homes, each between 220 and 290sqm, all sold on the first day on sale.

At the time, says Li Chen Yu, they were the most expensive on the market in Nanjing at RMB2 million each, or almost $NZ360,000.

Stage two, another 62 homes, goes on the market in December. With the Chinese property market soaring, these houses have gone up by RMB1 million ($NZ180,000) and the floor size has been reduced.

To attract potential buyers a showhome has been decorated in a style which is best described as Palace of Versailles meets Asian kitsch. Huge chandeliers, marble floors, sumptuous furnishings, velvet drapes and over-the-top lavishness have been crammed into several rooms. Outside is perhaps the real jewel of the complex and where it becomes almost impossible not to lapse into real estate hyperbole. Extensive plantings and water features have created a pristine park that is dotted with bronze sculptures and secluded paths.

Central to the development is a large "clubhouse", modelled on the architectural style of the Rotorua Museum and tourism and information centre. Opulent and spacious, it will eventually become a meeting place, bar, gym and conference centre for Rotorua Town residents. Right now it's being used as the marketing centre and includes a large display of Rotorua attractions as well as that video of Helen Clark.

The floor space for the Rotorua display is rent free and is a showcase for New Zealand tourism. But it gets better still. Every resident who moves into Rotorua Town gets a free trip to Rotorua. No wonder mayor Kevin Winters is so effusive.

"Potentially that's five to six thousand visitors over the next few years of people who have real spending power, " he says.

Winters bristles at the suggestion the situation is fortuitous for the council and the city.

"We have got a very good marketable brand. There are huge incentives offered by the Chinese Government to promote clean, green living and they wanted our endorsement."

He has twice visited Rotorua Town and says he loves it. "They've captured the essence and theme of Rotorua really well."

Don Gunn, general manager of Destination Rotorua, says the free trip to Rotorua lifts the bar for tourism from China. He hosted the first group for afternoon tea at his home earlier this year and says offering the visitors the opportunity to interact with a New Zealand family adds another positive dimension to their experience.

Further down the track Gunn anticipates developing student and cultural exchanges as the relationship grows. In the meantime there is protection built in for the Rotorua, Feel the Spirit brand, a brand Winters claims helped lift prices for stage one.

There has also been agreement to build a timber home at Rotorua Town to help counter a commonly held view in China that timber is not a long-term product.

But it is the upcoming commercial opportunities that Winters and Gunn enthuse about most.

Rotorua Town has a row of empty shops that by April will stock specialised New Zealand products wine, beauty preparations, health products and "quality" clothing.

"There is potentially a market of six million people on the doorstep; if we only capture one per cent of that think of the opportunity," says Winters.

The commercial street is a joint development between Moon and New Zealand venture capital company Eros Capital. Eros has formed NZ China Direct to source stock for the street.

Its general manager Mark Rawson says the aim of setting up the street is to act as the springboard to take NZ China Direct across China.

"We manage the New Zealand side, they manage China."

Rawson, the former economic development manager of Rotorua District Council, says the council receives many approaches each year from overseas delegations. "It turned out they had an interesting project, we followed up and it evolved from there. But there has been a lot of time involved in making it work. Ultimately we see it as a huge growth opportunity."

This week Li Shun Xiang was back in Rotorua finalising details for the commercial street.

While he was here, Waitomo Mayor Mark Ammon was at Rotorua Town as part of an official visit to China to explore business opportunities for the region.

He was impressed by the complex and says it's a marketing angle that appears to be working in China.

"I think that for people who can afford that standard of housing it's a good concept although it's leveraging off the New Zealand image a bit."

Ammon spent part of his trip exploring the possibility of a similar development using the Waitomo name near Beijing.

He is aware there is nothing that can legally prevent Chinese developers using New Zealand place names and his aim is to exert some influence over its design.

"There are positives in it and it is better to influence the direction a bit."

The Waitomo project is to be based in Tangshan, south of Beijing, which is home to seven million people making it slightly larger than Nanjing.

But so far the land is yet to be decided on.

Ammon says he met the deputy mayor who is in charge of construction and other officials and also looked at three possible sites with representatives of the development company.

"There is no cost on our side but we're an asset to their marketing and concept. One of the paybacks is the promotion of Waitomo and New Zealand. While the Chinese tourism industry is not the highest yielding at the moment, the potential is enormous."

This is the first in a series of feature articles on New Zealand business links in China. Susan Pepperell was the recipient of a grant from the Asia New Zealand Foundation to visit China.

- © Fairfax NZ News