Beijing had a taste of celebrity culture this week as adoring fans and China’s fledgling paparazzi fell over themselves to rub shoulders with the nation’s newly crowned sporting heroes.

Hotel lobbies, airport lounges and party venues have been thronged with Chinese autograph hunters wielding digital cameras and hoping to catch sight of their favourite stars.

Newspapers and glossy magazines, usually filled with Communist party announcements and soft focus fashion shoots, have been plastered with images of Chinese athletes seen out and about in Beijing.

China’s businessmen and fashionistas have every night been flocking to Beijing’s China Doll club for a chance to rub shoulders with the country’s athletics stars.

The club, which is guest list only, offers punters the chance to gorge on champagne and dance to house music alongside the club’s scantily clad staff until the early hours.

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