Qingdao residents are beginning to purchase more international products, which is something they weren’t able to do until recent years.

The average expenditure of Qingdao’s urban residents hit 16,080 yuan in 2009, up 62.7 percent from 2005’s numbers, which is on top among the 15 sub-provincial cities.

Statistics show the total retail sales of consumer goods in Qingdao are gradually rising. There are more types of daily consumer goods available, and the quality is improving. Qingdao residents are beginning to purchase more international products, which is something they weren’t able to do until recent years.

In the supermarket MYKAL, a customer surnamed Lin said, “My first taste of imported food was in 1995. The food was brought back by a relative of mine from the Philippines. It made me feel fresh and exciting. Now, you can buy imported food in Qingdao almost anytime everywhere.”

Manager Shao, from a supermarket in the Hisense Plaza, pointed at shelves stocked with imported food, and said the supermarket brought together tens of thousands of types of imported food from over 20 countries and regions in the world. Imported food makes up 70 percent of all food sold in the supermarket.

With the ever increasing quantity and varieties of imported food, some merchants began to hold foreign food festivals, such as a Japanese food festival, an American food festival or an imported fruit carnival. During these festivals, merchants will put the food on display for sales. They will also purchase huge amounts of fresh exotic fruits to spread foreign flavor.

Besides food, foreign branded cell phones, clothes, cars and luxury items are also landing in Qingdao’s shopping malls. In 2008, Hisense Plaza opened to the public in grand style. The store sits 300 meters away from the Olympic Sailing Center and has been praised as the most beautiful shopping center in Asia. World famous brands, including LV, Prada and Burberry, were all for sale. World-class brands take up 80 percent of all brands in the shopping mall.

With the acceleration of China’s development and the empowerment of Chinese spenders, more and more first-class electronics brands, such as Panasonic, Sony, Samsung and Sharp, have decided to synchronize the time-to-market of their new products in China with other key markets around the world. Some have even started debuting products in China.

Cars were regarded an article of luxury by Qingdao locals years ago. Wang Xin, an auto sales agent, recalled that imported cars were rare in Qingdao, since prices were intimidating for ordinary people. However, nowadays he says, “the swallows from distinguished families fly into commoners` courtyards.”

Foreign branded vehicles are seen everywhere on the streets. People looking for cars have been dazzled by their options. Take Buick for example. Today nearly 10 types of Buick cars are for sale at local automobile retailers.

Qingdao residents began purchasing world-class watches.