Rupert Hoogewerf (pictured right) presents the Best Super Luxury Executive Car award to Rolls-Royce Phantom.

This January, Hurun Report celebrated the 10th annual edition of the Hurun Best of the Best Awards in Shanghai. On the night, 500 guests, led by 30 of China's top entrepreneurs, gathered to recognize the preferred brands of the Chinese luxury consumers.

Established as a research unit in 1999 by British accountant Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report Inc has grown into a leading luxury publishing group based in Shanghai. Hurun Report is best-known for its annual Hurun China Rich List. Over the past 10 years, Hurun Research has interviewed 4,818 millionaires, of which 12 percent are super-rich, making the Hurun Report Chinese Luxury Consumer Survey the largest and most comprehensive survey of its kind in China, an ISO 9000 for China's luxury sector.

Between June and December 2013, the Hurun Research Institute, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hurun Report Inc, surveyed 393 mainland Chinese "millionaires," defined as individuals with a personal wealth of 10 million yuan ($1.60 million). Among them were 69 super-rich individuals with wealth of 100 million yuan. The ratio of men to women surveyed was 6:4.

Overall, the average spending of China's high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) has decreased by 15 percent, with spending on gift giving down by a dramatic 25 percent, which Hoogewerf explained was possibly due to the impact of anti-corruption initiatives and a slow down in the economy. For the first time, Louis Vuitton has lost its crown as the preferred brand for gifting by men, losing out to Hermès. Chanel continues as the preferred brand for gifting by women. Maotai is - for the third year running - the only Chinese brand that made it to the list, but it has fallen one place to 14th.

HNWIs are busier than ever. They are taking more business trips - up 7 to 7.5 days a month, leaving less free time to travel for leisure. The number of days they spend on holiday has decreased by 10 percent. The average HNWI took 7.5 days holiday last year, while working more weekends.

The number of HNWIs who have emigrated, or are planning to do so, rose to 64 percent from 60 percent, driven mainly by the number of super-rich who have already emigrated. The US is still the destination of choice, while the number of individuals emigrating to Europe has increased.

The Hurun Business Confidence Index shows that the confidence that Chinese millionaires have in their economy has risen for the first time in five years, with three out of 10 feeling "extremely confident," amounting to 31 percent of respondents and up from 25 percent last year. Real estate was the investment of choice, followed by equities, although the super-rich shunned equities and invested more heavily in art and alternative investments. Gold was down 6 percent in comparison to last year.

The average age of respondents was 38 years old; the same age as last year. The average age of the super-rich interviewed was 39 years old, one year younger than last year. The average wealth of respondents was 59.2 million yuan, last year's average wealth was 59 million yuan. Significantly more emphasis has been placed on health over the past five years.

As greater emphasis is being placed on leading a healthier lifestyle, the number of HNWIs who do not smoke has risen to 61 percent, up from 40 percent five years ago, and the number who claim not to drink has doubled to 40 percent over the last five years. On average, HNWIs go to sleep at 00:30 am and wake up at 7 am. Travel is their favorite leisure activity, while swimming and golf continue to be the most popular sporting activities. Jogging has risen to third place, resembling more the Western concept of fitness regimes, while for female HNWIs yoga continues to be most popular.

Rupert Hoogewerf (pictured left) presents the Best Yacht Brand award to Ferretti. Photos: Courtesy of Hurun Report

Collecting traditional Chinese ink paintings has now overtaken collecting watches, although the super-rich still prefer collecting watches. The top international travel destinations are Australia and France, while Sanya and Hong Kong are the chosen domestic destinations.

Millionaires send their children abroad to study at an average age of 18 years old, whereas among the super-rich, the average age is 16. For pre-university education, 28.7 percent say the UK is the destination of choice, while the US remains at the top for postgraduate education at 36 percent.

The respondents were from 23 first- and second-tier cities across China, with Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou accounting for 60 percent. By regional distribution, 48.6 percent, 30.8 percent and 19 percent of respondents came from East China, North China and South China respectively.

During the afternoon's press conference, Hoogewerf answered questions from an audience made up of around 50 media representatives and announced some of the top winners early, including Rolls-Royce Phantom - Best Super Luxury Executive Car - and Ferretti - Best Yacht Brand. In total, nearly 70 awards were handed out on the night, presented to brand representatives by guest Chinese entrepreneurs.



Hoogewerf said, "There is a paradox at the heart of the Chinese entrepreneur: on the one hand they want to stay discreet, and on the other hand, they are currently buying more Rolls-Royces and luxury watches than any other nation."

Hurun Report would like to thank all sponsors and media partners for their support, including Rolls-Royce, Dassault Falcon, Emirates, Davidoff, Sail Sea Equity, Swellfun, Lemen Int'L, Nespresso, Yangcheng Lake Chinese Mitten Crab, YHX Bank, Jack Peng, Chateau De Cayx, Miele, Fuchun Resort, Agile Hainan Clearwater Bay, Kang.Yong.Qian, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, Shangri-La Ningbo, Banyan Tree Spa, Genesis Aviation, Aspirelifestyles, Linx Club, Cui Huang Ge, Davinci, UrbanRetreat, Pernod Ricard, China Telecom, FIPA, Tourism Australia, Guan Weijun, Global Times Metro Shanghai, V Marketing China, Channel Young magazine, Trend Weekly, Travelling Scope, Golf Wednesday, Zenith, Maxi, Home Style, TopDriver, Global CEO, Chinese Business  magazine, Investor Journal, Youth Newsletter, Luxe China, Sina Fashion, QQ Finance, Sohu Business, Eastmoney.com, Tulip Media, Atop Media and Flair Media. For more information, please visit www.hurun.net.