Beijing authorities plan to build a “seven-star hotel” modelled after Dubai’s Burj Khalifa – the world’s tallest building – in a $1.3 billion joint project with Saudi Arabia.

The hotel will be erected in western Beijing‘s Mentougou district some 30 kilometres (18 miles) from the Chinese capital’s centre.

The Saudi side is expected to foot the entire bill but we still dont know why such an expensive project would be located in the underdeveloped rural area.

The Italian luxury house, which just opened a jewelry boutique in Beijing on December 10, has other imminent plans in the pipeline for China.

The company will debut a new retail concept before Christmas in the Village North, a shopping complex in Sanlitun, an affluent area filled with shops and eateries.

Additionally, Versace is planning to unveil another flagship in Shanghai’s Plaza 66 shopping center as well as another location in Zhengzhou, sometime in 2011.

Hublot opened its first flagship store in Beijing on Nov. 29, 2010 and announced Jet Lias the first Asian ambassador for its brand.

The new Hublot store in Beijing has an area of 100 square meters and is located at the entrance of Wangfujing Street in the Oriental Plaza, one of the most prosperous iconic shopping malls in downtown Beijing.

The flagship store in Beijing is the third Hublot boutique in China, following the first at Plaza 66 in Shanghai and the second at Intercontinental Hotel in Dalian.

Galeries Lafayette – the upscale French department store – has announced that it will open its first location in China by the end of 2014.

The Beijing store will be operated as a 50-50 joint venture between the French company and the Hong Kong-based fashion retailer I.T.

Galeries Lafayette is also expected to unveil additional stores in other major Chinese cities including Shanghai, Chengdu, and Shenzhen.

French Luxury Shoemaker Christian Louboutin plans to open two stores in China next year, propelled by the rising incomes of Chinese shoppers.

The first-ever Beijing standalone store is slated to open in July 2011, followed by a Shanghai boutique in December 2011.

Louboutin said in a recent interview with Bloomberg that he may operate as many as five stores in China in the next three years.

Business-wise, it’s a smart move. China, the world’s second largest luxury goods market, is expected to become the biggest market in the next five years.

Hilton Hotels has opened the first five-star airport hotel in China, at Beijing International Airport.

The luxury hotel, which is close to the airport’s newest terminal three building, will cater to the rapidly increasing number of wealthy travelers in China.

It contains 322 rooms and seven restaurants and bars, along with two full-size ballrooms and a 25-meter indoor swimming pool.