Beyond Shanghai: China's lower tier leisure trends

After talking to dozens of youth in lower tier Chinese cities, China's county level cities, from middle school students to middle class working adults, we found one major trend: low tier youth have much more leisure time than their overworked first tier city counterparts. So what are they doing with all that time on their hands?

China trend no. 1: No Starbucks, but plenty of third places

Starbucks isn’t the only third place away from home and work. While the global chain has not reached China’s fourth tier, even cities bereft of other leisure options have pricey coffee houses where people go to hang out. 

Why the popularity? Low tier youth have less demanding jobs and schools, and more intimate peer groups. Time to kill and needy friends add up to a market for third places. 

The older generation tells us we don’t understand the world, but we know better than them.— Wu, 17, Tangshan high school student

But there are differences. Tea and other sweet beverages are bigger sellers, and ‘coffee houses’ are often full- fledged restaurants. The word ‘coffee’ advertises a comfortable, premium environment more than actual coffee.

“I don’t like coffee,” says Li Ye, 24, English teacher in Yiyang, “but I like the atmosphere [in the coffee house I frequent]. It’s peaceful.”

Low tier coffee houses are most often organized as private rooms and isolated booths, offering more privacy. Why? Smaller communities mean more acquaintances to potentially overhear your conversation.

China trend no. 2: Mobile distractions

In less developed cities, youth rely on their mobile as a way to exert their modest consumer power, and as a welcome distraction from their environment. In the poorest cities we visited, youth are seen with mobile in hand more often than not.

Low income youth often don’t have access to a computer at home, so mobiles are their primary means of accessing the Internet. They use their mobiles to watch videos, listen to music, chat on QQ, read novels, and play games.

“I spend more than five hours a day online on my mobile,” says Zhang, 18, Tangshan high school student. “I check NBA news and chat with friends.”

Nokia was the most mentioned mobile brand, although for low-income youth Nokia is an aspiration more than a consumption choice.

I don’t like coffee, but I like the atmosphere [in the coffee house I frequent]. It’s peaceful.— Li Ye, 24, English teacher in Yiyang

The most intense mobile usage is among the poorest youth; even within the fourth tier there is a marked difference between usage depending on personal income, number and quality of universities, and development.

Mainstream youth don’t usually use their mobiles to self-educate online; influence on hobbies and worldview still comes primarily from parents, peers, and mass media. More rebellious kids, however, tend to turn to the Internet for information more often.

“The older generation tells us we don’t understand the world,” says Wu, 17, Tangshan high school student. “But we know better than them.”

China trend no. 3: Hot for paperbacks

Low tier youth are extremely literate, whiling away hours with their noses in books.

Han Han, famous young Chinese blogger and novelist, is very popular, as are fantasy novels adapted from online games for the boys, and dime store romances for the girls. Self-help career books are another favorite.

“I read lots of Guo Jingming [another famous young Chinese novelist] and Han Han,” says Peng Peng, 17, Yiyang high school student. “I like to read when I’m stressed out, after I get home.”

Youth download books, but paper books are a cheap and easy purchase within reach of even low-income students, and can become sentimental possessions.

Reading is an old school escape hatch, but it’s accessible, and popular novels furnish daydreams with plots and iconography.