China's emerging luxury brands look to recover traditions lost in communist revolution

Chinese are quick to boast about their 5,000-year legacy of culture and learning. Yet history is often the missing element for would-be Chinese luxury brands now seeking a piece of their own market.

Long tradition has been a mainstay for internationally recognized luxury products, and the Chinese market is no exception. About 40% of wealthy Chinese surveyed by Hurun and Industrial Bank rated "long history" as an important characteristic for top-end brands.

Yet few Chinese luxury products survived the period between communist takeover and the country's reform and opening, a span of roughly 30 years ending in the late 1970s. The lone survivors of the orthodox communist years, such as the liquor Moutai, have translated officially condoned prestige into hugely successful domestic businesses.

Other Chinese companies, mostly clothing designers, are attempting to bridge the gap by reaching into the early years of the 20^th Century for style inspiration with Chinese characteristics. Results have been mixed, however; some Chinese companies are inching toward the prestige of brands like Louis Vuitton and Chanel, but many others fall short.