China’s Ultra-Rich Are Losing Their Favorite Escape Route to Europe

For wealthy Chinese looking to flee stifling pandemic lockdowns and political tensions, Portugal has a lot to offer. Mild weather, a laid-back and affordable lifestyle and investor visas that allow access to the whole European Union — all for as little as 350,000 euros.

It’s a pitch that’s lured thousands of Chinese over the past decade, helping to reshape Portugal’s urban landscape as part of a tide of new money that reached $1 billion annually at its peak in 2014.