Asian culture, lifestyle, food, travel & entertainment
An old Chinese banknote was sold for ¥2.35million (~$345,000 USD) at an action in Shanghai on Dec 20.
Nicknamed the “horse ranching pic” for its background image, the banknote was the first batch of Renminbi issued by the People’s Bank of China in 1951.
The banknote had a face value of 10000 when issued, but the currency was revalued shortly after and 10000 became ¥1 instead. Image via Artron [Cn], click pic for bigger size.
The first Gold ATM in the US opened last Friday at the Town Center Mall in Boca Raton, Florida. The machine will dispense newly minted .999 Pure Credit Suisse Gold Bullion Bars and US minted American Eagle Gold Coins to customers.
The Gold-to-Go vending machine – with a computer inside which collects real-time prices – was invented by Thomas Geissler. The first of its kind was installed in Abu Dhabi in May 2010, followed by a few European locations before landing in North America. Another Gold ATM is to be installed in Las Vegas soon.
A hotel in the oil-rich emirate of Abu Dhabi, UAE, is bidding for an entry in the Guinness World Records for housing the world’s most expensively decorated tree.
The 13-meter Christmas tree was decorated by the Style Gallery with jewellery, gold and precious stones worth more than 40 million DH (~ $11 million USD) in total. It’s currently exhibited at the luxurious Emirates Palace Hotel, which also made headlines earlier this year for housing the world’s first gold vending machine.
Photos of a gold plated Mercedes-Benz in United Arab Emirates (lol where else?). The C63 (original price ~ US$60,000) has been running since 2008 or earlier, very limited info is available (painting cost, owner etc.) else…
A box of 28 premium Esashi apples was recently sold for a record one million yen (~US$12,000) in Iwate, Japan. Located in the city of Oshu, Esashi is known for its high quality agricultural products, especially for its rice and apples.
It’s not uncommon for premium fruits to be sold for a few hundreds US dollars in Japan; but exceptional pricing like this happens no more than once or twice a year, normally during the product’s first auction of the season where buyers would purchase it at high price, sometimes for publicity instead of gastronomical sake.
Yein Jee is a 32-year-old Malaysian traveller, food lover & self proclaimed entrepreneur. YeinJee's Asian Journal is about Asian culture, lifestyle, … [more]
