Quotes of the Day

On his first trip to Italy, in 2003, Zhang Xiaodong saw all the monuments and museums he cared to see. This time he's serious. Sitting with his back to the majestic Spanish Steps, Zhang's gaze is fixed straight down Via Condotti, the golden street of high-end Italian fashion, where Gucci, Prada and Salvatore Ferragamo are among the marquee attractions. Zhang, 32, a database manager from Beijing, cradles a shopping bag with two belts from Italian designer Cerruti 1881 and a pair of Spanish-made Camper shoes. That's just one day's booty, on a trip that will also include stops in Milan, Florence and Pisa. On his two jaunts to Italy, Zhang estimates that he's spent more than $3,500 on designer goods and other merchandise, including two pairs of Prada shoes and a Gucci travel bag. "Italy has the best leather. There is a style that is unique," he says. "The French, though, have the best perfume." Asked to list which Chinese products he favors, Zhang just shakes his head: "China doesn't have any famous brands."

Here's the global economy at work. Just as China is sucking industrial jobs from Italy, so newly rich Chinese consumers are flocking west to buy the quality and cachet of European brands. The World Tourism Organization estimates that the number of Chinese tourists overseas will expand 12.8% a year—triple the world rate—to about 100 million by 2020. And back in China, European companies are cashing in on the boom. Prada has already opened 10 stores on the mainland, with each location posting double-digit annual growth. Just last month, Italian tire giant Pirelli opened its first plant in China, in Shandong province, to serve the growing high-performance domestic Chinese auto market.

Yundi Li, a 23-year-old prodigy pianist, already has a Ferrari in his driveway back in Shenzhen, the fishing-village-to-metropolis boomtown across the border from Hong Kong. Li has come to Italy for the first time to play Chopin at Rome's prestigious Auditorium. But just hours before taking the stage he is zipping in and out of the shops on Via Condotti in a pair of white Gucci loafers, which look extra-hip with his bell-bottom jeans and oversized aviator sunglasses. His girlfriend, Michelle Lin, has white latticed Armani footwear. Both pairs of shoes were bought in China, but Lin says that prices and selection are better in Rome. And he loves that stuff! "Whatever is from Italy has romance and warmth and emotion," he says. Pity you can't say that about most chairs.

• Jeff Israely | Rome
• China goes shopping