Cultural consumption mirrors young people's life in 2023

Musicians perform at the Midi Music Festival in Jinan, Shandong province, in May 2021. (Yi Chu/China Daily)

On December 25th, Taobao unveiled its list of the top ten products for 2023, documenting the cultural consumption habits of young people and revealing the state of their minds over the past year.

In 2023, the cultural lives of young people largely went offline. This year witnessed a full revival of the performance market, with a blowout growth in concerts.

According to data released by the China Association of Performing Arts, in the first three quarters of this year, there were 1,137 large-scale concerts and music festival performances nationwide, attracting an audience of 11.45 million.

Attending concerts is not merely about watching the show. For young people, immersive participation is crucial. Therefore, items like light boards and glow sticks, which increase the atmosphere of gaiety, saw brisk sales. Many small businesses reported that this year was their best in a decade. A web store specializing in glow sticks claimed a revenue of 2 million yuan this year, a growth of over 700% compared to the previous year.

Except the vibrancy and trendiness of concerts, young people also have a deep appreciation for traditional Chinese culture.

The fifth edition of "Chinese Traditional Garment Day" attracted tens of thousands of young enthusiasts showcasing their finest clothing.

It is worth mentioning that the Ming dynasty-era horse-face skirt, popular over 600 years ago, has once again become a hit. On this year's "Double 11" shopping festival, Taobao sold over 730,000 horse-face skirts, enough to cover 105 football fields.

Their enthusiasm for museums also suggests young people's love for traditional Chinese culture. During the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day this year, 6,565 museums nationwide received 66 million visitors. More than 90% of museums offer free admission.

The pursuit of a good life by young people doesn't overshadow their resonance with the disasters around them.

In mid-2023, Zhuozhou County in north China's Hebei province experienced flooding. Numerous book publishing enterprises were seriously affected, as their warehouse storing books have been flooded.

At that time, the "Zhuozhou Book Special" quickly went online on the Taobao platform. Many netizens have requested to buy water-soaked books. As the books may grow mold and bacteria and be unreadable, booksellers unanimously decided not to sell any of them. Some affected businesses sought additional printing, while others opted for pre-sales. Netizens placed orders in solidarity, resulting in a cumulative transaction amount exceeding 30 million yuan, assisting the afflicted book publishers in their recovery.

Finally, there's a unique category of virtual products. Sellers post pictures of Einstein's face on the product page, typically priced at a few cents, claiming that clicking on the link will "increase one's intelligence." Similarly, as exam season approaches, virtual products like "IQ +1" and "Pass the Exam" witness a surge in sales.

Although the above example may not encompass all situations, it is within these authentic cultural consumption experiences that people build their lively cultural life.

Source: China Youth Daily; trans-editing by Guo Yao