By Chen Nan (Beijing Weekend)
Updated: 2007-12-12 09:57

Shopaholics have been giving their wallets a workout at Seasons Place, where upscale department stores are sprouting at a crazy pace. Since its grand opening at the end of September, Luxury icons LV, Gucci, Ferragamo, Versace have all opened, plus Hong Kong-based Lane Crawford Department Store and more. Seasons Place has become a paradise for fashion lovers with plenty of coin.

With a commercial history dating back more than 800 years ago, Financial Street was then a flourishing business district of Dadu, capital of the Yuan Dynasty. Today, with its close proximity to the Forbidden City, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site, and Chang'an Avenue - the capital's main thoroughfare- Financial Street is the new Wall Street of China. Developed at more than 45 billion yuan ($5.6 billion), the 1.7-million-square-meter precinct is headquarters to more than 1,200 government departments, financial institutions and corporations.

Designed to provide an eco-friendly landscape in the landmark location, the 30,000-square-meter Central Park is part of the overall planning by US-based architects SOM (Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP).

Seasons Place is an upscale shopping center full of luxury fashion boutiques, jewelry stores and exclusive shops, while The Exchange Walk Restaurant and Bar Street offers a myriad of dining and entertainment experiences. The development also encompasses a convention center and serviced apartments. Financial Street's location affords convenient access to the ring roads, subway passenger lines, 40 public transport circuits and more than 10,000 underground parking spaces.

The center hopes to feature over 600 brands, including Miu Miu, Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen, and more than half of the store's brand portfolio will be new to the Beijing market.