Finding ways to fight inflation

In addition, an increasing number of Chinese families have started to focus their attention on a variety of wealth management products for better returns, since the interest rate on deposits does not rise as fast as inflation.

Although earlier this month, the People's Bank of China, the central bank, raised benchmark deposit interest rates by 25 basis points, the current 3.5 percent for a one-year deposit rate still lags far behind the CPI rise.

"China entered an era of negative real interest rates in February last year. Since putting money in the bank is no longer a sensible choice, Chinese families have to search for other approaches as a store of value," said Ye Tan, a Shanghai-based senior financial commentator at a recent forum.

In the first half of this year, Chinese commercial banks sold 8.51 trillion yuan ($1.32 trillion) of wealth management products, exceeding last year's total of 7.05 trillion yuan, according to local media reports.

Ye said the sales of individual wealth management products across the country shot up in recent years. The money collected by them only amounted to 400 billion yuan in 2007.

Xie Qiang, a 35-year-old sales manager at a Beijing-based high-tech company, said currently his main method of building wealth is to purchase wealth management products every month.

"I don't have many investment options with my spare cash because savings rates in banks are lower than inflation, the stock market has been sluggish for months and housing is too expensive for me," he said. "So, short-term and relatively sound wealth management products win out."

Xie recently bought a product from Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, which had a one-month maturity and offered a 5.5 percent annual return.

This month, China Everbright Bank is courting customers with a 12-month product that offers a staggering 8 percent annual return.

However, experts warned that it is important for Chinese families to decentralize and diversify their investments.

Most short-term wealth management products provide an annual return of 4.5 to 5.5 percent at present, according to Wu Yan, a senior wealth adviser at China Everbright Bank.

"Although the return rate is higher than the deposit rate, it is still hard to outperform the CPI. Ordinary investors could also try purchasing funds, gold or other products so as to diversify their investments for better returns," said Wu.