Young people gets healthier via Tai Chi, square dance

Bilibili, a video-posting platform primarily targeting young users, released the Youth Interest Trend Observation - Spring 2023 Edition report which explored various youth cultural interests. It identified 10 high-growth interest points, including live houses, handcrafted Mahjong, giant pandas, and more. One interesting trend among these is the rise of "being spiritually old."

Young people have started pursuing a healthier lifestyle, rediscovering traditional health exercises such as Baduanjin, Qigong, Longevity Exercise, Five Animal Frolics, and Tai Chi, which were once considered activities for the elderly.

According to data, the number of posted videos related to Baduanjin and Qigong on Bilibili has grown by 90% compared to the previous year, with a 93% increase in viewing volume.

Hobbies that were associated with the elderly are also gaining popularity among the younger generation. They are adopting dietary practices focused on health, with enthusiastic netizens sharing recipes of regimen soups and the best combinations of ingredients for driving out inner dampness.

Soft drinks like cola are no longer their beverage. Instead, they set up large tea tables in living rooms and keep a Golden Toad as a tea pet. They are also engaged in leisure and entertainment activities that bring them closer to the older generation.

Some enjoy Pingtan, a traditional storytelling and ballad singing art form, in tea houses, some share their experiences of polishing beads with fellow enthusiasts, others fill their cameras with photos of flowers and plants.

"Since taking up the traditional games, I feel like getting younger," said a Bilibili user named Tuanzi. Tuanzi has turned her lifestyle simpler, choosing fruits over snacks, prioritizing early bedtimes and early mornings instead of staying up late partying, and embracing seated meditation as her favorite form of exercise. This kind of lifestyle seems to make her feel more relaxed and joyful, as if she has been reborn.

Why have the games for the elderly become popular among young people? There are two main reasons:

Firstly, it's the appeal of traditional culture. In recent years, the rise of traditional performing arts, Chinese tea ceremonies, and other traditional cultural forms in movies and films, games, and other aspects has indirectly attracted young people. The unique charm is considered as super cool.

Secondly, it relates to psychology. For young people, choosing a slower-paced lifestyle to combat fast-paced urban life and work pressures can be a way to maintain emotional stability and to relieve psychological stress.

As lifestyles become more diverse, and the public becomes more accepting of different ways of life, it's important to enrich one's own choices and find what suits oneself best.

Source: China News; trans-editing by Wang Yunya