After years of driving a Mercedes-Benz and a BMW, Li Maozai made a choice that surprised even himself: He bought a Chinese luxury car.

开了多年的梅赛德斯-奔驰和宝马之后，李茂载（音）做了一个连他自己都感到惊讶的选择：他买了一辆中国国产豪华汽车。

Mr. Li, a partner at a law firm in the southern Chinese city of Nanchang, chose the Maextro S800, an 18-foot sedan built by Huawei and JAC Motors, for its sleek lines, elegant design and high-tech features that his German cars couldn’t match. At $140,000, it wasn’t cheap, but it was much less expensive than European luxury vehicles.

李茂载是中国南方城市南昌一家律师事务所的合伙人，他选择了尊界S800。这是一款由华为和江淮汽车联合打造的轿车，长约5.5米。他看中这款车流畅的线条、优雅的设计以及他的德国车无法比拟的高科技配置。虽然100万元左右的售价并不便宜，但比起欧洲豪车要便宜得多。

“This car changed our old belief that only BMW, Benz and Audi are luxury cars,” Mr. Li said in an interview.

“这辆车改变了我们过去认为只有宝马、奔驰和奥迪才是豪华车的旧观念，”李茂载在接受采访时说道。

Powered by devotees like Mr. Li, the Maextro has rapidly become China’s best-selling luxury car, outpacing Western rivals. Huawei said one out of every three luxury cars sold in China in April was a Maextro. It has come to embody the supercharged rise of Chinese brands across luxury retail — from automobiles to personal goods and hospitality — steadily squeezing out once-dominant European labels.

在李茂载这样忠实拥趸的推动下，尊界迅速成为中国最畅销的豪华汽车，超越了西方竞争对手。华为表示，今年4月，中国售出的豪华汽车中每三辆就有一辆是尊界。它已成为中国品牌在整个奢侈品零售领域——从汽车到个人用品再到酒店业——超高速崛起的缩影，它们正稳步挤压曾经占据主导地位的欧洲品牌。

Even as the world’s second-largest economy contends with a property crisis and sluggish consumer spending, Chinese shoppers are flocking to Made-in-China luxury brands, drawn by more reasonable prices, cutting-edge technology and a cultural sensibility finely tuned to local tastes. The shifting sensibilities have unfolded alongside a rising nationalism and a deepening pride in the country’s economic ascent in recent decades.

尽管作为世界第二大经济体的中国正在应对房地产危机和消费支出疲软，中国消费者仍纷纷涌向中国制造的奢侈品牌，吸引他们的是更合理的价格、尖端的技术以及高度契合本土品味的文化敏锐度。这种观念的转变伴随着日益高涨的民族主义情绪，以及对国家近几十年来经济腾飞日益深厚的自豪感。

北京的老铺黄金门店，其产品融入了故宫的元素。

Building on Maextro’s success, Huawei is preparing to release an even pricier model next month, starting at $220,000. Laopu Gold, a jewelry brand that incorporates motifs from the Forbidden City and imperial craftsmanship in its designs, tripled its revenue last year. And domestic leather handbag labels like Songmont and Truuzen are carving out a foothold as accessible luxury options.

在尊界取得成功的基础上，华为正准备在下个月发布一款更昂贵的车型，起步价为150万元。珠宝品牌老铺黄金在设计中融入紫禁城元素和宫廷工艺，去年的营收增长了两倍。山下有松和裘真等本土真皮手袋品牌正作为正作为平价奢品之选在市场上站稳脚跟。

As Chinese consumers have turned toward homegrown brands, century-old international luxury powerhouses have struggled. Richemont, the parent company of Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, reported a 23 percent sales decline in China last year. Porsche said it would close nearly half of its dealerships in the country by the end of the year.

随着中国消费者转向本土品牌，拥有百年历史的国际奢侈品巨头正陷入挣扎。卡地亚和梵克雅宝的母公司历峰集团报告称，去年其在中国的销售额下降了23%。保时捷表示，到今年年底，将关闭其在中国的近一半经销商门店。

“For decades, Western luxury brands had held the narrative power in the high-end consumer market,” said David He, a managing partner at BA Capital, a venture capital firm that invests in retail brands. “Today, Chinese consumers are no longer looking up to Western culture, but are beginning to look back at ourselves.”

“几十年来，西方奢侈品牌一直掌握着高端消费市场的话语权，”投资零售品牌的风险投资公司黑蚁资本的管理合伙人何愚表示。“如今，中国消费者不再仰视西方文化，而是开始审视我们自己。”

Mr. Li, the Maextro owner, feels little nostalgia for the German luxury cars he used to drive.

尊界车主李茂载对他曾经开过的德国豪华车几乎没有什么怀旧之情。

He waxed poetic about the features of his new car that his old cars never offered: doors that open and close with a wave of his hand, a storage cabinet that warms his tea and his favorite feature of all, Huawei’s self-driving system that pilots itself on highway trips.

他津津乐道地赞美新车上那些旧车从未有过的功能：挥挥手就能开关的车门，能为他保温茶水的储物柜，以及他最喜欢的功能——能在高速公路上自动驾驶的华为智驾系统。

There is so much excitement about the brand that Mr. Li organized activities for the Maextro owners’ association in his home province, Jiangxi, alongside fellow business owners and professionals.

由于对这个品牌充满热情，李茂载与一些企业主和专业人士同行一起，在家乡江西省为尊界车友会组织了各种活动。

Laopu Gold, the jewelry company founded in 2009, has also quickly established itself as a force to be taken seriously in the luxury space. By reviving heritage gold techniques that emphasize traditional craftsmanship with prices ranging from $3,000 to millions of dollars, Laopu generates roughly twice the per-store revenue of Cartier, according to an HSBC research report.

成立于2009年的珠宝公司老铺黄金也迅速确立了自己在奢侈品领域不容小觑的地位。汇丰银行的一份研究报告显示，通过复兴强调传统工艺的古法黄金技艺，推出价格从2万元到成百上千万元的产品，老铺黄金的单店收入大约是卡地亚的两倍。

Mr. He, the venture capitalist who invested in Laopu Gold in 2023, said the company’s ascent, driven in part by the surge in gold prices, had been propelled by a younger generation willing to pay for fine traditional craftsmanship and to “wear jewelry with symbols of Eastern aesthetics.”

在2023年投资了老铺黄金的风险投资人何愚表示，该公司的崛起在一定程度上得益于金价的飙升，但推动力也来自那些愿意为精湛传统工艺买单、且喜欢“佩戴蕴含东方美学符号珠宝”的年轻一代。

One popular gold pendant, for example, is made from delicate gold fibers in the shape of a bottle gourd — a symbol of good luck in Chinese culture.

例如，一款大受欢迎的黄金吊坠是由精致的金丝制成的葫芦形状，葫芦在中国文化中是好运的象征。

Perhaps the clearest sign that Laopu has arrived as a genuine challenger came from a competitor. Bernard Arnault, the chief executive of LVMH, the world’s largest luxury group, visited the storefronts of both Laopu Gold and Songmont, the handbag brand, in Shanghai last year.

也许，最能证明老铺黄金已跻身真正挑战者行列的迹象恰恰来自其竞争对手。全球最大奢侈品集团路威酩轩的首席执行官伯纳德·阿尔诺去年在上海考察了老铺黄金和手袋品牌山下有松的门店。

Mr. Arnault’s visit to Songmont was all the more striking given how the brand has marketed itself as an affordable luxury label, offering minimalist premium leather bags priced around $500. During last year’s Double Eleven shopping festival, which is like China’s equivalent of Black Friday, Songmont overtook Coach as the top-selling handbag brand on Tmall, the premium-tier channel of China’s biggest shopping platform, Taobao. Truuzen, another homegrown label, claimed the No. 3 spot.

考虑到山下有松一直将自己定位为一个价格可负担的轻奢品牌，提供售价约3500元的极简高端真皮包袋，阿尔诺对该品牌的造访就显得尤为引人注目。去年双十一购物节期间，在中国最大购物平台淘宝网的高端渠道天猫上，山下有松超越蔻驰成为最畅销的手袋品牌。另一个本土品牌裘真位居第三。

“We used to be puppets in the marketing of Western brands,” Cheng Baohua, the founder of Truuzen, said. He said the company’s sales doubled in 2025, but he thinks it is about more than value-minded shoppers in a cooling economy. “Over the years, more educated consumers have undergone an ideological awakening,” he said.

“我们过去一直是西方品牌营销的傀儡，”裘真创始人程宝华表示。他说公司在2025年的销售额翻了一番，但他认为，这不仅仅是因为在经济降温下消费者变得更注重性价比。“这些年来，受过更好教育的消费者经历了思想上的觉醒，”他说。

Mr. Cheng said he believed customers were drawn not only to the product’s quality but to the down-to-earth ethos the brand has promoted. Last year, rather than promoting exclusivity, Truuzen released a podcast and a documentary that spotlighted the lives of female workers in leather factories and celebrated the resilience of ordinary women.

程宝华表示，他相信顾客不仅被产品的质量所吸引，也看中品牌所推崇的脚踏实地的精神。去年，裘真没有去宣扬稀缺性，而是发布了一档播客和一部纪录片，将镜头对准了皮具工厂女工的生活，赞颂了普通女性的坚韧精神。

Linda Xie, a public relations specialist, said in an interview that she considered her Truuzen bag higher quality than her Furla and Coach handbags, which she said had discolored over time, and that she carried it to work every day. Another Truuzen bag owner said the leather rivaled that of her Hermès bag.

公关专员林达·谢（音）在接受采访时表示，她认为自己的裘真包质量比她那些芙拉和蔻驰手袋还好——她说，她的芙拉和蔻驰随着时间推移已经褪色，她每天都背着裘真去上班。另一位裘真包主则表示，这款包的皮革质量堪比她的爱马仕包。

A cultural pivot is also reshaping the hotel sector.

一种文化转向也正在重塑酒店业。

Rather than coveting stays at global chains with their one-size-fits-all service, 78 percent of high-net-worth Chinese individuals now prefer “unique cultural experiences” during hotel stays, according to a 2024 report by the Hurun Research Institute.

胡润研究院2024年的一份报告显示，78%的中国高净值人群现在在入住酒店时更青睐“独特的文化体验”，而不是热衷那些提供千篇一律服务的全球连锁酒店。

西藏的松赞酒店是富裕的中国城市居民的度假胜地。

One trendy escape for China’s wealthiest urban dwellers is Songtsam, a hotel chain founded in 2001 by a Tibetan documentary director. Its name means “paradise” in Tibetan, and the chain has 20 properties scattered across the tranquil Tibetan Plateau, pairing stunning views with personalized cultural tours that can run upward of $10,000 per person.

对于中国最富裕的城市居民而言，松赞是一个颇具魅力的度假选择。这家酒店集团由一位藏族纪录片导演于2001年创立。它的名字在藏语中意为“天堂”，该连锁品牌在宁静的青藏高原上拥有20处产业，将壮丽的景色与每人费用可高达7万元以上的个性化文化之旅结合在一起。

Frances Li, a marketing professional who has stayed at Songtsam properties three times, said these tours were a treat for her. Though the hotel’s facilities may be less lavish or uniform than those of international chains, the warm, detail-oriented service from local staff reaches a luxury standard of its own. “At the end of the trip, I felt healed,” Ms. Li said.

曾三次入住松赞酒店的营销专家弗朗西丝·李（音）表示，这些旅行对她来说是一种享受。虽然酒店的设施可能不如国际连锁酒店那般奢华或标准化，但当地员工热情且注重细节的服务达到了独具一格的奢华标准。“在旅行结束时，我感觉被治愈了，”弗朗西丝·李说。

Florence Li, Songtsam’s vice president of international sales and marketing (and no relation to Frances Li), said the company’s revenue rose 50 percent in 2025, propelled by surging demand for its tours. Domestic Chinese guests, who made up only a small fraction of the clientele in its early years, now constitute the majority, she added.

松赞负责国际销售和营销的副总裁弗洛伦斯·李（音，与弗朗西丝·李无亲属关系）表示，在对其旅游项目的激增需求推动下，公司在2025年的营收增长了50%。她还说，中国国内客人在公司成立初期只占客源的一小部分，但现在已经占据了绝大多数。

Ms. Li, who is also the hotel founder’s daughter, said its success reflected a broader shift among Chinese travelers, who were not only growing more confident in local brands but going out of their way to support them.

弗洛伦斯·李也是松赞创始人的女儿，她表示，这一成功反映了中国游客中正在发生的一种更广泛的转变，他们不仅对本土品牌越来越有信心，而且还会特意去支持它们。

“It’s not only happening in the hotel industry,” Ms. Li said. “Even for myself, I’m also very interested in looking into domestic handbags.”

“这不仅仅发生在酒店业，”弗洛伦斯·李说。“就拿我自己来说，我也非常愿意去了解国产手袋。”