Welcome to Paris

Just before 10 a.m. last Tuesday, staffers took up position at a back-door entrance to the Galeries Lafayette department store in central Paris. In their hands: store maps translated into Mandarin. On the red walls behind them: images of the Buddha, and of French model Laetitia Casta wearing a side-buttoned red silk Chinese outfit and a welcoming smile.

Then came the deluge. A busload of Chinese tourists poured in and started loading up on perfume, cosmetics and Fauchon chocolates. "Shopping is an important part of the trip," said Robert Huang, director of the Shanghai Business Travel Co., as...