Capital Paradise. East Lake Villas. Riviera Gardens. Forest Hills. Exclusive holiday resorts in the South of France? No, just the latest in suburban housing developments in communist China.
No sooner had I moved into my apartment in a diplomatic compound in central Beijing last week than I discovered there was an exodus of westerners from the centre to ritzy new accommodation on the outskirts.
Three years ago the choice simply wasn't there, with the majority of foreigners living in state-approved accommodation in Beijing's bustling inner city. But now suburban life is being re-created for Westerners working in the East but hankering after the living conditions they've left behind.
Take, for example, Capital Paradise, one of the exclusive developments in the north-east of the city, 45 minutes drive from the city centre and 5 km from the airport. The brochure offers "an exclusive lifestyle in the natural environment of suburban Beijing".
"With the beautiful Wenyu River meandering by the self contained development of European-style homes and superb recreational facilities, it is lavishly landscaped and professionally managed." Sounds tempting.
Capital Paradise stands on 36 hectares with more than 1,000 town houses and villas. It comes complete with a luxurious clubhouse, restaurant facilities, a landscaped man-made lake, sports club and swimming pool. Truly a home from home for lonely/reluctant expats.
The brochure for another popular "mini-West", Dragon Villas, is very blunt. Boasting about the amenities in its development of villas and town houses, it offers "a perfect community in an imperfect world".
Playing his part in attracting some of the 100,000-strong Western community to these suburban "castles" in Beijing is an Irishman who will one day become king of Birr Castle in Co Offaly, Lord Oxmantown - better known to his friends in China as Patrick Parsons.
Parsons (31) has been living here for nine years and is vicegeneral manager of Beijing Taihe Jiayuan Real Estate, the company behind Forest Hills, the biggest and most exclusive expat housing development to date in the city. Here, a fourbedroomed villa will be offered for a rent of around $10,000 a month. Or you can buy it outright for a mere $1 million or so.
Parsons's father, the Earl of Rosse, is the current resident in Birr Castle. He worked with the United Nations, which resulted in Patrick living all over the world as a boy.
Lord Oxmantown's first venture into the property business was in New York, followed by a period selling chateaux in France. Always interested in Asia, he spent a month travelling around China, fell in love with the country, and decided to stay. He is now a fluent Chinese speaker.
According to Parsons, there are two reasons why the Western property market is booming in Beijing. One is the huge increase in the number of multinational companies doing business here, with demand for quality housing for staff and their families rising all the time.
The second is the relaxation in what is known as "wai xiao nei xiao" - one rule for Westerners and one for locals. This has resulted in expats being allowed to live in developments other than the traditional compounds they were confined to before.
Forest Hills will be set on 100 hectares about 40 minutes from the centre, but will be low density with 800 town houses, apartments and villas units. "We are determined to build this to the highest environmental standard. We want this to be at one with nature, wildlife and plants around," Parsons said.
The company's market research has shown that most Westerners who come to Beijing stay for between three to five years and do not become engrossed in the Chinese way of life. "These are people who hop and skip around Asia while they are here. They don't want to understand the culture and are not too interested in China. For that reason, they want somewhere comfortable and nice to live in, just like home."
But central Beijing, despite the smog and traffic snarl-ups, does have a character all of its own as my family and I have discovered since our arrival here for the start of our great Eastern adventure last week.
Home is the Qi Jia Yuan Diplomatic Compound, across the road from the Irish Embassy (which is comforting) and a 30minute walk from Tiananmen Square. We are living in a threebedroom apartment on the sixth floor in one of several blocks here.
There are three entrances into the compound, which are manned 24 hours a day by freshfaced border guards who look no more than 16 years of age.
It's not Capital Paradise, East Lake Villas, Riviera Gardens or Forest Hills, but life in central Beijing does have its compensations. The elderly men bringing their caged birds to nearby Ritan Park; the haggling at Silk Alley clothes market, on our doorstep; and having dinner in the nearby state-run Sichuan Chinese restaurant for £12 make this place special.
And if it's a bit of the West we want, there's a Starbuck's coffee shop and a Kentucky Fried Chicken right across the road.