Sun, sand and stir-fry? Miami attracts Chinese investors

"We are seeing some Chinese-buyer activity that we never expected," said Codina, whose project is adjacent to Blue Monster golf course at Trump National Doral hotel. "Chinese get this project in two seconds, because they've seen cities emerge out of nowhere."

NR Investments produced a promotional video in Mandarin to lure Chinese buyers to its Canvas condominium development in an area better known for parking lots and low-rise buildings between downtown and the design district.

"Everybody wants a piece of Miami now," said Ron Gottesmann, a principal at the company. "This is the beginning of the change."

If only there were more noodle shops.

"There are not enough Chinese restaurants, supermarkets and spas in Miami's supply chain," said Li, head of American Da Tang Group, a partner of State-run China Communications Construction Co. "These are challenges that must be overcome. We want to put in new restaurants and services that can cater to Chinese as well as everyone else."

On a visit last year, Li donned a Panama hat and white blazer as he slung his arm around local executives and ex-Florida governor Charlie Crist. His company then scooped a downtown lot out of bankruptcy with $75 million.

While Chinese media have been reporting Miami as a real estate destination, the realtors' association numbers show that they still account for a fraction of purchases: 3 percent. Expansion in the world's second-largest economy is the slowest in 25 years as the Chinese authorities wage the broadest corruption crackdown in decades.

"It's not such a significant number of Chinese folks that are buying retail," said Francisco Cerezo, a partner at the law firm Foley & Lardner, who advises wealthy Latin American families.

Besides culinary shortcomings, the biggest challenge to attracting Chinese buyers is the absence of a nonstop flight, Li said. And while the United States and China will start granting 10-year visas to each other's citizens, the nearest Chinese consulate remains in Washington, he said.

Even so, Miami's Chinese population is reaching critical mass, says Mikki Canton, a corporate lawyer. She's so sure the city is ripe for its own Chinatown that she has trademarked the names Chinatown Miami and El Barrio Chino de Miami.

Asian Americans were the fastest-growing racial group in the Miami metropolitan area between 2000 and 2010, expanding 47 percent to 158,400 residents－out of 5.6 million－according to US Census Bureau data analyzed by the nonprofit Asian Americans Advancing Justice. The Chinese population grew 32 percent to 35,700, trailing only Indians among Asian ethnic groups. Foreign-born Chinese grew 67 percent between 2006 and 2010.