BEIJING, Sept. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- China's top shopping centres are witnessing a booming business development period, and to make themselves the fittest in the jungle of rivals, they are competing furiously with each other, with flashy interior designs, brands of international fame and better services. At the end of the day, it's all about luring more customers in.

    In their bid to stand out, these malls are actually becoming somewhat uniform, with their six or seven-storey buildings, grand halls and artistic displays. On the first floor - always the expensive cosmetics brands; the second floor, ladies' frocks.

    American scholar Hans Morgenthau puts it all down to "national caricature."

    He says this is a kind of natural resource crucial to national strength. The overall taste of the country will shape the future development of the country - and as China has clearly intended to go international since 1979, Chinese citizens should go international first in order to lead the trend later. Internationalized and high-standard super malls are already leading Chinese people towards international fashions.

    Here, they get to know what it's all about without actually having to go abroad.

    But these malls are not necessarily the places where the Chinese people are spending their hard-earned cash, especially those on only average incomes. The places could be in France or Italy, not China.

    Domestic brands are not featured prominently in the new malls, rather, they seem to be disappearing below stairs, further away from the buying public.

    A big, shiny shopfront is almost a sign that reads: "No money - no entry." It could all lead to a most unhealthy psychology of "wealth adoration" among the public. People are losing themselves in their fervent pursuit for luxurious lifestyles and could consequently be forgetting all about our profound Chinese culture and national pride.

(China Daily)