Price of vintage Moutai soars, fueled by thirst for alternative investments
老茅台酒价格飞涨，刺激着另类投资者的兴趣
SHANGHAI - A small bottle of vintage Chinese spirit sitting in a timeworn cupboard of a house in Shanghai has turned out to be worth more than one million yuan ($152,000) as China's Moutai auction market heats up.
上海——当中国茅台拍卖市场升温时，在上海一小瓶放置在陈旧酒柜上的一小瓶中国酒被估价超过了100万元。
Shanghai International Commodity Auction Co Ltd has welcomed a special group of customers during the past two weeks - more than 600 elderly Shanghai residents, all aged between 60 and 80 years old. They all came for one reason - to try to find a good buyer for their vintage Moutai.
上海国际商品交易有限公司在过去的两周内迎接了一队特别的顾客----600多名上海老人，所有的年龄在60-80之间。他们前来全都是为了一个原因，给他们老茅台找个好买家。
"I watched the news last night, which indicated that aged Moutai sells for more than 10,000 yuan provided that it has been kept well," said 71-year-old retired worker, Jiang Changrong. "That's why I'm here to try my luck."
一位已退休的71岁工人姜说，我昨天看新闻了，新闻说老茅台可以卖超过10000元假如保存得很好的话。这就是我在这儿的原因碰碰运气。
A bottle of Moutai produced in 1958 was sold for more than 1.46 million yuan at an auction in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, last September. With few investment options open to them, many private Chinese investors are speculating on the price of spirits, especially Moutai.
一瓶产自1958年的茅台酒在去年9月时，浙江杭州一次拍卖中价格超过了1.46百万元。因为缺乏投资选择，许多私人投资者正在投机酒价，特别是茅台。
After witnessing heated auctions of vintage Moutai held in Hangzhou, Beijing and Nanjing, Fan Ganping, vice-president of the auction house, decided to arrange Shanghai's first auction of the traditional spirit.
目击了杭州，北京，南京茅台酒的拍卖热度，拍卖行的副总范，决定在安排上海第一次老酒拍卖会。
A hundred and ten pre-1990 bottles will be offered at the auction on Sunday. A bottle of 1955 vintage, the earliest ever seen on the market, stands a good chance of breaking the existing price record and winning the crown of "the most expensive Moutai" in China.
110瓶1990年前的茅台在周日被提供拍卖。甚至可以看到最早的一瓶1955年的茅台。很有希望打破现有的记录，赢得中国最贵的茅台的桂冠。
"The bottles for auction are collected from more than 600 residents across the city," said Fan. "More people are sending in their collections than we expected - around 500 people came in less than two days, and most of them are senior residents."
拍卖的酒从全城600多名居民处收集来，范说，比我们预想更多人送来了他们的收集品，不到两天的时间大约500人前来，大多数人都是老年人。
According to Gan, the upcoming Moutai auction will also be the first time that such a large number of the goods for auction came from the grassroots level.
据范说，即将到来的茅台拍卖会是第一次有如此多来自百姓层的商品
"A decent bottle of Moutai, especially the ones produced by the renowned Kweichow Moutai company, was a good gift to give for weddings during the 1960s and 1970s, which is why the older generation usually kept them as souvenirs," said Gan.
一瓶保存体面的茅台，特别是由知名公司贵州茅台公司生产的，在20世纪60到70年代是结婚很好的礼物，这也是为什么年纪大的人通常保存做为纪念品的原因。甘说。
"Someone came to me hoping to auction two bottles of Kweichow Moutai, which he purchased for 3.5 yuan each in 1966. I think they will easily sell for 300,000 yuan each. Never in his wildest dreams would he expect such a big increase in value."
有个人带着两瓶贵州茅台来找我拍卖，是他在1966年时花了每瓶3.5元买的。我认为这两瓶茅台很容易每瓶卖到30万元。这超 出了他最大的想像，能如此大的升值。
However, the scale of the auction in Shanghai is nothing compared with Hong Kong's wine auctions. Hong Kong overtook the United States as the world's wine auction capital in 2010 and it has every intention of keeping that title, judging by its first four sales this year.
然而，上海这次拍卖规模无法与香港葡萄酒拍卖规模相比。香港在2010年超过美国，成为世界葡萄酒拍卖的冠军，并希望继续保持这个殊荣，通过今年头四次销售额衡量。
According to figures provided by Wine Spectator magazine, the sales brought in $34.7 million in the first month of 2011 alone. Between Jan 21 and 23, 2,611 lots were offered in Hong Kong by Sotheby's and Acker Merrall & Condit, bringing in $25.5 million.
根据《葡萄酒鉴赏家》杂志的数据：仅在2011年第一个月，拍卖金额达到3470万美元。在1月21到23日期间，在香港苏士比拍卖行及阿奇拍卖行，有2611件拍卖品被提供，带来了2550万美元
"Compared with them, our Moutai market is still emerging," said Fan. "But I can't see why we can't grow into a much bigger and stronger market within a few years."
范称：也其比较，我们的茅台市场仍然启蒙阶段。但是我不知道为什么我们不能在几年内成长到更大更强的市场。
However, there are concerns that Moutai manufacturers are trying to manipulate the market price.
然而，会有些担心，茅台的制造厂会试图操纵市场价格。
On Jan 1, Kweichow Moutai raised the factory price of Flying Moutai by 20 percent, bringing it to 619 yuan a bottle. The company also suggested a maximum retail price of 959 yuan, 90 yuan higher than the previous maximum.
在1月1日，贵州茅台公司将飞天茅台的出厂价增加了20%，每瓶619元。公司同时建议零售商的最高销售价为959元，比之前最高价上涨了90元。
"It's possible that manufacturers buy vintage Moutai at a relatively high price at auctions to promote their own brands - upgrading the traditional Chinese liquor into a luxury one, so that they can further increase their prices," said Tony Jiang, an associate sommelier from the Shanghai Wine Club Association.
上海葡萄酒俱乐部联盟助理品酒师，姜先生说，有可能工厂在老式茅台拍卖价格相对很高时购买，以提升其自我品牌，从传统的中国酒变为奢侈品，以便进一步提高价格。
China Daily
(China Daily 02/23/2011 page15)
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