从身着格子外套的美国人，到戴着整套头巾的阿拉伯酋长，伦敦早就学会了如何让有钱的外国人大掏腰包。现在中国人来了，他们在英国每次购物平均花费600英镑。伦敦正希望以新型的零售旅游来吸引他们。
你说普通话吗？你想上福特纳姆&梅森(FORTNUM & MASON)的屋顶参观蜂巢吗？这里是该奢侈品商店采集蜂蜜之地。一个代表邦德街(Bond Street)、芒特街(Mount Street)、杰明街(Jermyn Street)和萨维尔街(Savile Row)上众多零售商家的协会——奢华伦敦(London Luxury)可以为你量身定制一个旅游行程，265英镑就能带你去那里——再多花一些钱就可为你安排一辆私人轿车。
你想要一套萨维尔街的定制西装？同样花上265英镑，新兴的中国富人就可以参观萨维尔街裁缝店地下的工作室——实际制作服装的地方。服装工人们在缝纫机上弓身劳作的情景，或许更容易让人联想起深圳，而非萨维尔街。不过，人人都爱看些伦敦不对大众开放的东西。奢华伦敦表示，"裁缝店作坊之旅"在中国内地游客中间颇受欢迎。"皇家授权品牌之旅"也很吃香：参加该行程的游客得以一览梅菲尔区(Mayfair)各皇家授权商店的"机密档案材料、特殊珍藏品牌资产和遗产物件"。中国富人钟爱这种唯我独享的体验。
奢华伦敦总裁布鲁斯•邓达斯爵士(Lord Bruce Dundas)表示，去年中国人在该区消费了2亿英镑，比前一年增长155%。今年的皇家婚礼，明年庆祝女王登基60周年的钻石大庆，都将有利于吸引中国人来到伦敦：中国人有皇室情结。凯特(Kate)和威廉(William)大婚后，中国各地出现乘坐马车招手示意的山寨版皇家新娘，就是一个例证。甚至连伦敦奥运会都可能受到欢迎：在2008年花费巨资举办了广受赞誉的北京奥运会之后，中国人大概很想看看伦敦有多擅长"人体书法"。
邓达斯爵士认为，与之前的阿拉伯酋长们一样，中国人可能在未来几十年里在奢侈品市场、在伦敦留下他们自己的印记。富人们看来也不全都一样。"对中国消费者来说，包装很重要：他们喜欢包装纸，"奢华伦敦的贾斯•泰瑞尔(Jace Tyrrell)表示。"千万别向他们推销钟！"在中文里，送钟与送终谐音。为了平均每笔600英镑的交易，人人都能成为语言学家。
译者/何黎
http://www.ftchinese.com/story/001038820
From Americans in tartan sportscoats to sheiks in full headgear, London long ago learned how to pry open the wallets of rich foreigners. Now along come the Chinese, who spend an average of £600 every time they swipe a bit of plastic in the UK, and London is looking for new forms of retail tourism to entice them.
Do you speak Mandarin, and fancy a visit to the beehives on the roof of Fortnum & Mason, where the luxury grocer gets its honey? London Luxury, an association that represents the merchants of Bond Street, Mount Street, Jermyn Street and Savile Row, can create a bespoke tour to take you there for £265 – and lay on a private car for a bit more.
Fancy a bespoke suit from Savile Row? For the same £265, China's newest wealthy can visit the workshop beneath the Savile Row tailor where that suit will actually be made. Garment workers bent over sewing machines may be more redolent of Shenzhen than Savile Row, but everyone loves seeing bits of London not open to the general public, and London Luxury says the tailors' workshop tour is a hit with visiting mainlanders. The Royal Warrant tour is another: it promises visitors access to "secret archive material, special viewings of treasured brand assets and heritage pieces" of Mayfair's Royal Warrant holders. Rich Chinese love the exclusivity.
Lord Bruce Dundas, president of London Luxury, says Chinese spent £200m last year in the area, up 155 per cent from the previous year. This year's Royal Wedding and next year's Diamond Jubilee celebrations are a gift to those who market London to the Chinese: China loves a touch of royalty, as witnessed by all the knock-off royal brides waving from horse-drawn carriages around China since the Kate and William show. Even the London Olympics might prove popular: after spending billions on their own widely acclaimed Beijing Olympics in 2008, the Chinese may be keen to see how good London is at human calligraphy.
Lord Dundas thinks that, just like the sheiks who came before them, the Chinese could leave their mark on luxury, and on London, for decades to come. It seems the rich are not all alike: "for Chinese shoppers, it's all about the wrap: they love tissue paper," says Jace Tyrrell of London Luxury. "And don't sell them any clocks!" he says. The Mandarin words for giving a clock, and bidding farewell to the dead, are just that little bit too similar. The prospect of £600 from every transaction turns everyone into a linguist.
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