Built to last, Kinpurnie Castle is located in a rural part of Scotland in the United Kingdom. Buying a castle or chateau in Europe has become attractive to China's wealthy investors. (Photo/China Daily)
China's super rich are buying chateaus and castles in Europe and the U.S. as future investments, but many find the maze of red tape baffling
There is something awe-inspiring about their breathtaking beauty. Dotted around Europe's landscape are castles and chateaus with a fairytale quality intertwined with centuries of history.
Owning such a rambling relic is everyone's dream, but only the super rich can usually afford to buy one. In what has become a growing trend, China's tycoons are starting to fork out millions of dollars for their own slice of the past.
Cheng Haiyan, 28, the daughter of the vastly wealthy Chinese businessman Zuochang Cheng, was the first in 2008. The family paid 2 million euros ($2.2 million) for the 60-hectare Chateau Latour-Laguens, which nestles in the hamlet of Saint-Martin-du-Puy in France's prestigious Bordeaux region.
Attractions
What attracted Haiyan was the gracefully decaying 15th century tower, and the irregular pond, stone-lined and shaped roughly like a kidney. There was also the world-famous 30-hectare vineyards that appealed to her father Zuochang, whose vast business interests include a wine importing operation.
"The Chinese connected with the pond and its irregularity," Bruno Roussy, who helped arrange the transaction, told the New York Times, "because the Chinese believe evil spirits don't like crooked lines. Zuochang Cheng also wanted to go to France, to the roots (of the wine-making business), and buy a chateau."
Since then, more than 30 affluent Chinese business people have invested in castles and chateaus in France and the rest of Europe, including the celebrated actress and film director Zhao Wei.
The 39-year-old has become a shrewd investor and reportedly paid 4 million euros in 2011 for the 16th century Chateu Monlot and its vineyard in Saint-Emilion, which is also part of France's Bordeaux region.
As well as the chateau, its garden and vines, Zhao also purchased existing stocks of the respected Monlot wine, including the 2011 and 2010 vintages. The grapes are grown on the seven hectares vineyard
"China's rich love to invest in real estate and to collect antiques, which have both value growth potential and cultural heritage," Knight Frank LLP, an upmarket real estate company based in London, reported in a research note.
Knight Frank has looked into the investment pattens of China's wealthy business community and found that buying castles and chateaus have excellent growth potential.
"A castle may tick all the boxes for those who can afford to purchase and maintain an estate with long history," the property firm said.
There are about 67,000 Chinese nationals worth more than 100 million yuan ($16.1 million) and roughly 17,000 with an estimated fortune exceeding 500 million yuan, according to an April report released by China Minsheng Bank and the Hurun Research Institute.
"With so much money, investors can diversify their portfolios, not only in terms of what they buy but also in terms of where to buy," Sherry Wang, an overseas investment researcher based in Shanghai, said. "Castles may meet those demands for buying different properties in different countries."
Travel has also broadened the horizons of China's wealthy, and they have started to research old stately homes in Germany and the United Kingdom as well as France.
Many are known in the tour guides as "hidden gems", located in rural backwaters with stunning views and picturesque countryside. Even China's professional class has been left enthralled by these monuments to history.
"I once stayed in a boutique hotel which was a small caste in the north of England－it was like a dream come true from my childhood," Sun Ying, 24, who works in the legal profession for Shenhong Trade Ltd in Shanghai, said.
The trend of buying dream chateaus and spectacular castles started in the late 2000s with properties in the vine-growing region of Bordeaux becoming extremely popular. The UK has also attracted Chinese buyers searching for that special country estate, as well as the United States.
Naturally, prices vary from property to property and can run from hundreds of thousands of dollars to seven figures, depending on the location and the condition of the building.
