That's the mantra for some expensive real estate deals.

And this one was no exception. A five-square-metre stall near Beijing's Xiushui Market was auctioned for 4 million yuan (US$480,000) on Monday.

During the auction, a businessman at the well-known market purchased the stall in a new mansion for that hefty price.

Stall

He will obtain rights to use the stall in the new location which is due to replace the Xiushui Market.

It is believed to be the first time Beijing has held such a public auction for market stalls.

The developerth said e bidding was done to test he area's value.

According to the Beijing Times, 10 stalls went under the auctioneer's gavel, with all of them selling out in a little more than an hour.

Like the stall with the spectacular price, the others far exceeded the real estate developer's expectations.

Four booths hit more than 2 million yuan (US$240,000). The cheapest of the 10 went for 1.3 million yuan (US$157,000).

The auction attracted more than 300 business people, a third of whom were from the Xiushui Market.

The auction attracted business people from East Shanghai and Zhejiang Province, who were reportedly somewhat frightened by the steep prices.

A Shanghai businessman told the Beijing Times he supposed five-year rights for a stall would cost no more than 1 million yuan (US$120,000).

He said the skyrocketing prices were absolutely unacceptable for him.

According to Ji Wei, general manager of the mansion's developing company, the auction is only to test the value of the well-known Xiushui Market.

Located southeast of the embassy area near Ritan Park, the sector is famous for its unique collection of garments, which attract large numbers of foreign and domestic bargain hunters.

Foreigh tourists

For some foreign tourists, it has become a must for Beijing visitors, just like the Forbidden City and the Great Wall.

Sources with Beijing's Chaoyang District government said sales at the Xiushui Market top 100 million yuan (US$12 million) per year.

However, the 500-metre long, three-metre wide market is set to be demolished because of concerns over fire dangers.

It will be moved to the new building which can accommodate 1,000 stalls.

With three floors underground and five floors above, the new market in the building will cover an area of 28,000 square metres.

The building is still under construction.

Ji said dozens of stalls on the mansion's ground floor will be opened to public bidding later.

(China Daily  June 23, 2004)