KEY POINTS:
The Chinese are so taken with Rotorua they are building their own version of the volcanic town complete with shops selling New Zealand products.
Construction has begun on the town - a Rotorua-inspired residential development in the city of Nanjing - including a shopping centre to be stocked
with goods such as wool and sheepskin.
Rotorua Town will feature extensive planting and landscaping, and a network of pools mimicking the geographical pattern of the Rotorua lakes.
The centre should be completed by October and the developers say shoppers will get a "New Zealand experience", moving through an expo-style pavilion to shops filled with New Zealand arts and crafts, food and drink.
Beauty and health products will also feature, with everything of New Zealand origin. The centre is being built in the heart of Rotorua Town, which when completed in 2009 will house 5000 residents in 2000 homes.
The 30ha subdivision is 30 minutes from Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu province on the south bank of the Yangtze River and home to 6.5 million people.
The Chinese Government is establishing the province - population 26 million - as an economic and technology hub, and numerous industrial parks and education centres are being built.
Moon Building Co, 50 per cent owned by the Chinese Government, is behind the construction of Rotorua Town. The company signed an economic co-operation agreement with Rotorua District Council in 2005 and a New Zealand company, Eros Capital, is Moon Building's partner in the shopping centre.
Eros has set up an export company, NZ China Direct, to source goods for the centre.
"This is a great opportunity for suitable New Zealand businesses to gain access to the fast-growing China market," Phil Verry, executive chairman of both companies, said.
NZ China Direct general manager Mark Rawson said Chinese consumers were hungry for naturally produced products from New Zealand, particularly those with health benefits. He said Rotorua Town represented a great opportunity for niche marketing.
Mr Rawson said the Chinese developers were impressed with Rotorua's natural environment and the way residents accessed and used the forests, lakes and geothermal areas with minimal impact.
Every Rotorua Town resident will receive a free trip to the real Rotorua, and Mayor Kevin Winters has already hosted receptions for the first two groups of Chinese visitors this year.
The plan for the development came after a group of Chinese businesspeople visited Rotorua in 2005.
