Tibetan Mastiff: New Must-Have Luxury for China’s Wealthy Elite

Tibetan Mastiff - Slobbery dog becomes latest status symbol among China's wealthy elite

China’s latest must-have luxury for the ultra-rich, to go with mansions and sports cars, is a large, slobbery dog with massive amounts of hair best known for herding sheep and guarding Buddhist monasteries in Tibet. Tibetan Mastiffs (also known as Do-khyi) are large and fierce, reaching a height of up to 31 inches (80cm) and a weight of 176 lbs (80kg).

From the frozen steppes and remote monasteries of Tibet to the gated communities of China's urban rich, this guardian dog has come a long way.

Once condemned and banned as a bourgeois folly, pet ownership is booming in China, and the Tibetan mastiff  is the dog of the moment for those who want to spread their wealth beyond stocks and real estate.

You Wenfa, owner of a mastiff breeding farm on the outskirts of Beijing, saw potential profits from the enormous hounds and purchased his first dog in the early 1990s.

You currently has over 40 dogs and goes back to Tibet every year to seek prospective additions to his stock.

He also provides breeding services and charges up to 100,000 yuan ($14,650) for a session with one of his pedigrees.

“This is like a car. You drive a German Mercedes or BMW and I drive a Chinese Xiali or mini van. Everybody has their own choices,” said You.

“These dogs at the moment are a kind of choice for status and wealth,” said You, whose pure breed mastiffs can fetch up to 300,000 yuan each.

Tibetan mastiff puppies for sale sit on a car covered by a red blanket during annual China Tibetan Mastiff Expo in Beijing

“I can understand racehorses and diamonds, but I don’t understand why someone would want to pay half a million dollars for a dog, In the US, $5,000 is the upper limit for a show quality puppy.” said Martha Feltenstein, president of the American Tibetan Mastiff Association. “They have a relatively short life expectancy and are not especially rare, so it’s quite puzzling why they are fetching such a high price in China.”

In the U.S., Tibetan mastiff pups can be bought for as little as several hundred dollars, Feltenstein said.

A black Tibetan Mastiff called Yangtze River Number Two is believed to have broken the world record as the most expensive dog, having been sold to a Chinese woman for a reported $582,000 in 2009.

• The most expensive dog cost $582,000

Tibetan mastiffs hit the headlines last year when a young woman named as Ms Wang in China’s western Shaanxi province paid 4 million yuan ($582,000) for a mastiff cumbersomely named Yangtze River Number Two.

In keeping with its status the dog — 18 months old and 80cm high — arrived at its new owner’s home in stupendous style. According to local reports, a motorcade of 30 black Mercedes-Benz and other luxury cars cruised to the airport in Xi’an, the capital of Shaanxi province, to take delivery of Yangtze, and a throng gathered to fête the arrival of the city’s new resident after Ms Wang returned from buying it in Yushu county, Qinghai province in north-west China, home to many ethnic Tibetans and the epicenter of the 7.1-magnitude earthquake this Wednesday (April 14, 2010).

The award-winning Tibetan Mastiff "Red Lion" from Lhasa is worth $1.47 million.

• Tibetan Mastiff “Red Lion” worth $1.47 million

Yangtze however lost its top-dog status in April this year as the award-winning mastiff Red Lion was snapped up for $1.47 million (10 million yuan) after it won the grand championship at a mastiff exhibition held in Chengdu.

“I bought it at 480,000 yuan in 2009 when it was half a year old. My dog is a pure Tibetan mastiff, with its family tree confirmed by the authorities. Strong and majestic, it was spotlit among China’s 200 top mastiffs taking part in the preliminary contest,” said He Guangyin, the dog’s owner who lives in Lhasa.

“Red lion,” male, eats one kg of fresh beef and other quality food every day as it is in the growth period, He noted.

He said that 200,000 yuan is charged now for a successful breeding with his mastiff.

Among the must-haves for rich men in northeast China, the Xinhua News Agency recently said, was a young beautiful wife, a Lamborghini and a Tibetan mastiff, "the bigger and more ferocious the better."

• New status symbol

After splurging on real estate in Australia, American thoroughbreds and European designer fashions, China’s rich see the Tibetan mastiffs as a new status symbol. China is now home to an estimated 825,000 millionaires, its most in modern history, and its luxury goods market is one of the fastest growing in the world. Among the must-haves for rich men in northeast China, the official Xinhua News Agency recently said was a young beautiful wife, a Lamborghini and a Tibetan mastiff, “the bigger and more ferocious the better.”

“You could call it a local luxury brand,” said Rupert Hoogewerf, a Shanghai-based tax specialist who who compiles a popular annual list of China’s richest people. “Luxury brands are growing at phenomenal rates in China and owning a Tibetan mastiff is another channel for increasing your credibility and showing off your rich status.”

The mastiffs, themselves, look like money, resembling a lion that is a traditional symbol of good fortune.

“We want a breed of dog that is home grown, and this guardian dog is perfect because it is also a symbol of good luck for Chinese people throughout history,” said Wu Yunliang, the owner of “Warren Buffett” and nearly 20 other mastiffs. He keeps them in the northern city of Taiyuan where he owns a nursing home.

Hundreds of the hairy dogs were on hand, and owners and handlers marched the most expensive ones down catwalks during the annual China Tibetan Mastiff Expo in Beijing as though they were fashion models. Some carried the names of wealthy Americans like "Warren Buffett," while others were called "Obama" and "Son of Bush".

• Breeder standards

Potential profits from mastiff breeding are what drew Sui Huizheng, the businessman-breeder, who said he isn’t a dog lover. “I don’t touch or play with them much,” Sui said. He leaves the brushing and fluffing of his dogs to nearly a dozen handlers.

Passers-by were told only to admire the dogs from afar and not get near them because they’re hostile to strangers — all the better for protecting flocks and herders on the isolated Tibetan plateau, where they originated.

Retired track coach Ma Junren became fascinated with the mastiffs when he was training female distance runners on the Tibetan plateau in the late 1980s. Ma claimed the high-altitude training and concoctions of turtle blood and caterpillar fungus he fed the runners helped them set world records. But some of his athletes were later caught using banned performance-boosting substances. Ma retired, denying wrongdoing.

At the annual China Tibetan Mastiff Expo, he exhorted breeders to raise their standards so that China can gain entry to the World Canine Organization (Fédération Cynologique Internationale), an international federation of kennel clubs. The organization has so far kept China out over lax controls on vaccinations, several breeders said.

“I hope all our Tibetan mastiff lovers are honest. We don’t want to see thieves, criminals or cheaters around us,” Ma said.

藏獒成为中国暴富一族新宠

对中国的暴富一族来说，除了豪宅和跑车，最新的奢侈品就是以在西藏牧羊而闻名的毛茸茸、流着口水的大狗藏獒。

曾经被视为资产 阶级产物而一度遭禁的宠物饲养，如今在中国如火如荼。对那些想要在股票和房地产之外挥洒财富的人来说，藏獒正红极一时。

“我过去投资德国牧羊犬，但当前藏獒是热门”，生意人隋慧征(音)拥有约20只狗，他参加了上周末举行的第六届中国年度藏獒展览会。

数百只毛茸茸的大狗到场，狗主人和驯狗师让最昂贵的那些在秀场上亮相，仿佛它们是时装模特。一些狗起了“巴菲特”这样的美国富人的名字，其他的 还有叫“上帝”、“王子”的。他们希望得到的大奖是，饲养者愿意支付几万美元和他们的藏獒配种。隋花了4.3万美元弄到一个大展示台和一个贴满海报的摊位 来炫耀他的狗。

这种狂热似乎与其他地方的销售模式和常规相违背，尤其是对于一种以凶猛而著称的普通狗来说。“我能理解赛马和钻石，但没法理解为什么有些人想为 一只狗花上50万美元”，美国藏獒协会主席玛莎•费尔滕斯坦说，“它们相对而言寿命不长，而且并非特别稀有。所以，它们能在中国被炒到这么高的价格，令人 费解。”费尔滕斯坦说，在美国，区区几百美元就能买到藏獒。而中国的饲养者称，藏獒卖到几万美元，甚至超过10万美元。

继在澳大利亚房地产、美国顶级汽车和欧洲设计师的时装上大肆挥霍之后，中国的富人们又把藏獒当成了一个新的身份象征。中国如今拥有82.5万百 万富翁———是现代史上最多的，它的奢侈品市场是全世界增长最快之一。中国官方媒体最近报道，在中国东北富人的“必备”品中包括娇妻、兰博基尼和藏獒， “越大越好，越凶猛越好。”

“你可以称之为区域奢侈品牌”，中国富人排行榜的制造者胡润称，“奢侈品牌在中国正以惊人的速度增长，拥有一只藏獒是增强信誉和炫富的另一个渠 道。

• 女子400万买藏獒取名长江2号 30辆奔驰列队迎接

400万元对许多人来说，绝对是一个天文数字。可西安王女士，据说用400万元从青海玉树藏族自治州购买了一只藏獒。更让人惊叹的是，买主不仅空运藏獒到西 安，还吸引朋友动用30辆奔驰在机场迎接它。

王女士说，“长江二号”是后来才取的名，它原本有个好听的名字，叫“白根”，今年1岁半，是她和朋友花了很长时 间才物色到的一只原生态藏獒，是名獒“苏牧王”的后代。“金子有价獒无价”，王女士说，这次去玉树，原本是为自己的一只藏獒配种的，由于太喜欢“白根” 了，才临时决定花400万元买下了“白根”。说起如此庞大的迎接队伍，王女士说，这些迎接的朋友不少都是藏獒爱好者，大家都是自发组织起来特意迎接的。

而今年4月一条名叫“红狮”的藏獒让“长江二号”黯然失色， “红狮”在一次藏獒“选美”比赛中获得冠军，它目前的身价至少在1,000万元以上。

拉萨藏獒“红狮”勇夺双冠

• 拉萨藏獒“红狮”勇夺 “总冠 军”、“最佳狮头獒” 双冠

2010年4月3日位于拉萨市堆龙 德庆县的藏獒养殖基地的藏獒“红狮”在成都勇夺双冠。与其主人何银平说，“红狮”夺得冠军后身价猛增，它目前的身价至少在1000万以上。　　“由于体型壮硕，且处于生长期，‘红狮’每天要吃两斤的鲜牛肉，还要吃 上等饲料等食物。” 何光银说，“红狮”是一只公犬，在动物界公犬的价值比母犬更高。按照当前的市场来看，“红狮”配种成功一次可值近20万元。

“红狮”来自成都一家精品藏 獒养殖基地，2009年，何光银以48万的身价 把这头半岁的小獒带回拉萨。由于它的头看起来很像狮子头， 主人起了个“红狮”这个名字。

三八节北京最值得逛的10个地方

一年一度的女生节就要到了，您想好怎么过了吗？女生们忙起来了，男士们也不能闲着哦，想讨女孩子欢心的，可要抓紧了。小编为您介绍时下北京商场打折信息、最具特色的餐厅、最值得一逛的地方…无论您想逛街购物、品尝美食，还是浪漫约会，在 这里总会选到最想去的地方。

院翰若居书馆

• 左右间设计＋咖啡的院翰若居书馆

著名年轻建筑设计师王晖在古迹圆明园东门外开的这家咖啡馆,，当数北京城最具灵感的地角。光线同时洒在三角形的镜面做成的咖啡桌上、洒在镜面做 成的吧台上、洒在组成吧台的数千册混砌的书墙的结构上，又被这些材料反射出去，形成更多的光的通道，晶莹地将空间充满,实实在在地充满。桌椅的影子、人的 影子、窗影与树影浅浅地被表现出来，就像一组空间的画和时间糅在一起,却又要让人忘了时间。

地址：北京市海淀区圆明园东门内停车场北二间院

长城脚下的公社

• 长城脚下的公社：: 享不尽的郊外休闲

“长城脚下的公社”是由12名亚洲杰出建筑师设计建造的私人收藏的当代建筑艺术作品。同时也是婚礼、蜜月、派对的好选择。2002 年曾应邀在威尼斯双年展第八届国际建筑展上展出。这个项目的策划人和投资人张欣女士“因其大胆的创新精神,积极推动12名亚洲建筑师设计建造出极富当代精 神的私人住宅”而一举荣获威尼斯双年展“建筑艺术推动大奖”。地处古老雄伟的水关长城下，看不尽的风景，享受不尽的郊外休闲。

地址：八达岭高速公路水关出口

光合作用书房

• 光合作用书房:咖啡馆书店完美融合

这是国内唯一一家营业时间达24小时的书店。这里的书籍在挑选上有别于新华书店、图书大厦，注重城市文化和设计、生活、创意类。购书环境更加数得上 温馨、安静和愉悦。书店二层设有别致的咖啡馆，你尽可以选好喜欢的图书，坐在里面，一杯咖啡，一份悦读的心情。书店附近的几大著名大学更加烘托了文化气 息。周围一条街都是各式服装、玩具小店。也是韩国等各国留学生聚集的地方。

地址：北京市海淀区五道口华清嘉园1号楼

Emo生活概念

• Emo生活概念：现代设计乐园

东三环长城饭店南门边上，近来出现了一个挤满灵感的现代设计乐园。产品都是从英、意、瑞典、芬兰等国家代理的著名品牌，每一件设计都在造型之外有着 出乎意料的变化，饱含着奇思妙想和生活激情。小物件居多，价格也没有那么吓人，观赏之余，选几件兴奋一下家里的陈设或是送给兴趣相投朋友，都是一桩乐事。

地址：北京东三环长城饭店南门对面(农展北路三环路口)

簋街

• 簋街：汇聚商业店铺150多家

沿街共有各种商业店铺150多家，其中餐饮服务业100多家。饭馆密度如此之大，全北京恐怕再也找不出第二条来了。至于簋街名字的由来，据说是来自 老北京的“鬼市”。早年北京那些以贩卖杂货菜果为主的集市，后半夜开市，黎明即散，摊主以煤油灯取亮，远处看上去灯影憧憧，故名“鬼市”。还有一种通常的 说法是东直门内大街餐厅生意红火，由于来此宵夜的出租汽车司机众多，大部分门脸儿都一直开到凌晨三四点钟乃至通宵，因此这里又被人称做“鬼街”。

地址：东城区东直门内大街

百货大楼南街：淘宝好地方

百货大楼南街

• 百货大楼南街：淘宝好地方

在北京城最为繁华的王府井商业街中，其实隐藏着许多地道的小店铺，无论是吃食还是用品，统统被深深地刻下了老北京的印记。其中有一条古老但却没有那 么多游客知道的百货大楼南街，便是一处淘宝的好地方。与王府井大街上的商场不同，这里可以购买到一些老北京百年字号的餐具、小吃、生活用品等等。

地址：王府井大街255号百货大楼南

798艺术工场

• 798艺术工场：朴素大气艺术区

北京东北，四环之外，机场高速东南，一片占地约2万平方米的旧厂房静卧在一个名叫大山子的地方。一色的老旧砖墙，方方正正，外表平淡，它的清冷中自 有一种朴素大气之美。当三里屯的真粗糙和后海的假精致被熟腻之后，它以一种承载着历史的空间感令发现者眼睛闪亮。2年多来，一批当今最活跃的艺术家渐渐将 它打造为今日北京的一张脸，并明名为――798艺术区。

地址：酒仙桥2号、大山子环岛向北300m向右拐的小区进入

元大都酒吧街

• 元大都酒吧街：藏獒爱好者聚集地

元大都酒吧街位于朝阳区惠新东街的元大都遗址公园内，在北京还是首次把酒吧开在公园内，位置上的绝对优势也是其最与众不同之处。这里云集了不同风格 的酒吧，各色餐吧、商务吧、演艺吧、休闲吧、迪吧和彰显主人爱好的特种主题吧等等绝无二致。各种个性酒吧更是彰显魅力，藏獒爱好者聚集的獒吧、球迷聚会的 球吧、名人开设也是名人“出没”的名人坊等等，使更多个性群体得其相聚之所。

地址：朝阳区元大都城垣遗址公园东侧

王家渡火锅棕榈泉店位于棕榈泉生活广场3层

• 逸生活：享受别致异地美食

逸生活创意美食，融汇法国、意大利及东南亚美食概念的精华，巧妙地运用各国的香草及新鲜材料，密制出美味生津的创意美食。加上雅致温馨的环境，让人们抛开都市繁忙，尽情享用一顿丰富的晚餐。环境别致高雅的逸生活食坊还承接各种小型商务会务和私人活动。

地址：朝阳公园南路8号棕榈泉生活广场3楼

人大涂鸦墙

• 人大涂鸦墙：730米艺术长廊

涂鸦墙位于海淀区人民大学南路，长730米，平均高2.5米。由来自中央美术学院、798厂艺术天地、海外留学生等所创作。其中，有中央美院学生创 作的“北京一日”，捕捉北京芸芸众生之态；有根据汉拓片的造型画出的古人形象，惟妙惟肖；带给人以极富视觉冲击力的感受。这是目前国内规模最大、面积最大 的一面涂鸦墙。11月12日，在奥运倒计时1000天之后，这面墙被命名为“北京之墙”。

地址：海淀区人民大学南路