Hands up, all you men who would like to roam the streets of Shanghai with Joan Chen. Or have Shu Qi introduce you to a traditional Chinese medicine shop in Hong Kong.
Now, now, not all at once. The good news is, you can. The bad news is, you only have them speaking into your ear.
Designer brand Louis Vuitton has recently launched an audio guide narrated by these celebrities for travellers to three cities - Beijing (with Chinese actress Gong Li), Hong Kong and Shanghai - in six languages.
A collaboration with audio tour provider Soundwalk, the Louis Vuitton Soundwalk was made available by the French luxury brand on June 17.
"The spirit of Louis Vuitton has been all about travel since 1854, so this is no surprise. We have also been offering the Louis Vuitton city guide books for the last 10 years, so this is a natural progression," explains Ms Aileen Png, public relations manager for Louis Vuitton Singapore.
The launch of the product and the choice of cities have been done in tandem with the Beijing Olympics, which kicks off on Aug 8.
The company is unable to say if more cities and celebrities will be included in the future.
The mp3-format guides can be downloaded from the website at www.louisvuittonsoundwalk.com for US$17 (S$23) each and played on any mp3 player.
Celebrities like Joan Chen (above), Shu Qi and Gong Li will
narrate the guides for travellers to cities they are familiar with
or grew up in.
Travellers begin at a start point within the city, then take the one-hour walking tour, tuning in to the voices of the respective celebrity pointing out certain locations along the way.
The rhythm of the day-to-day lives of the city's people is brought through in the sounds of the city that accompany these guides.
Each celebrity will also take the traveller on a journey of love - a theme that runs through all three versions as the plot of the tour.
For example, Shu Qi is seduced by the charms of a handsome and mysterious man and follows him on a path that meanders through secret gardens and hidden passageways in the backlanes of Hong Kong.
These three actresses were picked to narrate the guide because the cities are places they are familiar with, or grew up in.
Take Chen, for example. She will lead visitors through Shanghai's French Concession - the neighbourhood of her youth - and recount her childhood days.
But here's the spoiler.
While you're revelling in Gong Li's soothing commentary accompanying your stroll through the courtyards of Beijing, just bear in mind that it might not actually be the voice of the sultry actress that you're listening to.
"Because the celebrities do not speak all the languages except their mother tongue, the other languages are dubbed with a voice that's closest to the celebrity," Ms Png says.
This article was first published in Life!, The Straits Times on July 1, 2008.
