Luxury appraisers in big demand

Rising incomes, consumption upgrade, concerns about fakes make unusual career hot

Young female consumers may aspire to own a premium branded handbag - Louis Vuitton, Gucci or Burberry - but Zhang Chen, 35, a luxury goods appraiser in Beijing, deals with hundreds of such items every day.

Luxury is in. As the affluent among the Chinese consumers go shopping at malls, online or even used-goods channels, services such as Zhang's offerings are in demand.