Casino giant Caesar’s Entertainment has announced the start of construction on its first non-casino luxury resort, in the Chinese holiday destination of Hainan.

The Caesars Palace Longmu Bay will be a 5-star resort with 1,000 rooms, a Las Vegas-style attraction which will set a ‘global luxury standard’ in China.

The first phase of the project is expected to cover a total of five square kilometers, Caesars confirmed September 27, with a planned opening date of 2014.

China, already the world’s second largest bullion consumer, has installed the country’s first gold vending machine in a busy shopping district in Beijing.

Shoppers in the popular Wangfujing Street can insert cash or use a bank card to withdraw gold bars or coins of various weights based on market prices.

Each withdrawal is capped at 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds) or one million yuan (about $156,500) worth of gold.

Construction has started on Beijing‘s tallest skyscraper, set to rise 500 metres and shaped like a vase, the state-owned CITIC group said Tuesday.

The building is the latest in a surge of ambitious construction projects in the Chinese capital, which along with other cities in China is attracting cutting-edge international architects keen to push design boundaries.

A groundbreaking ceremony on the planned 500-metre tall China Zun tower, named after a type of traditional Chinese wine vessel, took place in Beijing Monday.

Thousands of rich Shanghai residents have turned China’s most cosmopolitan city into the luxury capital of a country that is expected to become the world’s largest market for the sector between 2012 and 2015.

Shanghai topped China’s luxury market in 2010-11 with 18% of overall sales, ahead of Beijing’s 16% and the eastern city of Hangzhou, with its 13% share.

Second and third-tier cities in the country are still far behind, despite boasting a growing number of wealthy people, according to the World Luxury Association.

Byron Yiu has made his fortune by turning traditional shopping habits around and re-selling rich women’s luxury handbags in Hong Kong.

Yiu’s Milan Station retail chain buys trendy bags — luxury tote or shoulder bags to evening clutch – from the ladies who lunch in Hong Kong’s upscale neighbourhoods.

Locally known as “tai tais”, the small and often thrifty demographic, rarely seen without Prada, Chanel or Gucci on their arm, provides the retailer with a steady flow of bags which are later authenticated by Yiu’s team.

The booming Chinese mainland is now the largest importer of Bordeaux by volume, driving a jump in exports of the French wine, an industry body said.

Exports from the French winegrowing region rose 34 percent in value and 23 percent in volume between July 2010 and June 2011.

The boom was driven in part by iconic great estates, but the bulk came from little chateaux selling wines for less than 4.50 euros.