Forget Louis Vuitton handbags or Prada suits — the latest must-have accessory for China’s wealthy elite comes not from the chic designer stores of Shanghai or Beijing but from the plains of Tibet. The Tibetan mastiff, a rare, ancient and now extravagantly expensive breed of dog, has captivated those seeking to display their new-found affluence in a country experiencing a dizzying economic boom.

China has been in the grip of a fad for all things Tibetan since the opening last year of the world’s highest railway linking Beijing and Lhasa. That has fuelled the soaring price of mastiffs, with a perfect specimen now fetching as much as £250,000 — up from just under £100 in the late 1990s.

These huge animals, weighing up to 18st (113kg), are adapted to life in the thin air, freezing temperatures and wild mountains of Tibet, where they were domesticated 6,000 years ago, and are regarded as the oldest, biggest and fiercest domestic dog. The explorer Marco Polo described the mastiff as being as tall as a donkey and with a voice like a lion.

Traditionally, they have served as guard dogs for nomads who leave their tents all day to follow their flocks of yaks, sheep and goats. Their bite is as fierce as their bark and visitors approach such tents with great caution.

But the scarcity and reputation for fearlessness, ferocity and faithfulness of the Tibetan mastiff have transformed them into a status symbol for China’s new very rich. The mastiff may not only be the most expensive dog in the world, but also among the rarest, with only 100 pure-bred animals believed to exist.

At the annual Yushu horse-racing festival on the border between Qinghai province and Tibet, several dozen mastiffs loll on the ground on Tibetan rugs, shaded by beach umbrellas from the blazing sun. Ethnic Tibetan breeders display their finest dogs in the hope of finding a buyer among visiting Han Chinese tourists.

Jiangyong Yixi, 16, has two dogs on display. “Chinese see these dogs as a way to show off their wealth because they are rare. Also they are extremely loyal and great guard dogs. They have no fear. They will attack a bear or a tiger to protect their owners’ herds of sheep and yaks in Tibet.” China’s nouveaux riches may not fear bear attacks but they are willing to pay top dollar for a guard dog to protect their homes in the booming cities of China’s interior. A puppy with a fine pedigree was on offer for about 30,000 yuan (£2,000) at the Yushu show.

A grown “iron and gold” male, distinguished by its glossy black head and back and yellow-brown paws and underbelly, can fetch anything between 150,000 and 300,000 yuan. With a strong bloodline, prices of 1 million to 3 million yuan are not unusual.

However, breeders are concerned that the market is in decline. Prices have halved in the past year. It isn’t clear whether the fashion for the dogs as status symbols is fading or whether demand has resulted in oversupply.

Not all the dogs are for sale. Baima Dorje has a three-year-old male, Protected Secret, whose breeding is so pure and his looks so classic that the local Tibetan Mastiff Association has banned his sale. He more than earns his keep however, with breeders paying 50,000 yuan for a chance to mate their bitches with him. With a life expectancy of 20 to 30 years, Protected Secret will keep his mistress in style for quite some time.

For yak herder Zhilang Zhibang, 24, the fuss was much ado about nothing. “What are my dogs worth?” he gestured to three animals chained to pegs around his yak hair tent in the mountains outside Yushu. “They’re worthless. They’re here to guard my home.”

China’s top dogs

Pekinese 500 yuan (£33)

Dachshund 1,000 yuan

Basset hound 3,000 yuan

White wire fox terrier 1,500 yuan

Pomeranian 800 yuan

Source: www.dogbreedinfo.com

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