#urbanchina

[infiniwander]

There is seldom so much in life to remember like in these days. I’m home, but I miss home. #china #germany🇩🇪 #dailycreative #photography #urbanchina #gardens #photooftheday #travelphotography (at Gansu) https://www.instagram.com/p/BtlphTpFgr3/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ej0z8x7ny417

[infiniwander]

Night city view, Lanzhou. #photooftheday #night #china #urbanchina #photography #blackandwhite (at Gansu)

[beautifullrebels]

OneDayInLife #shanghai #shanghaistyle #shanghaistreetphotography #shanghailife_ #photography #worflow #traveller #traveldiaries #urbanchina #urban #china

[nephaba]

Milles mercis aux éditions @urbanchina pour la publication française des manhuas de xia da, sans qui je serais passée à côté d’une des meilleures auteures de ce monde-ci. Cent milles mercis à xia da pour ces larmes de mélancolie et de joie que je verse à chacune de ses histoires à l’univers si riche d’émotions! I can only hope to perhaps be a fraction as good as her one day!

[chinarightinfrontofyou]

The Urban Consumer

Final hours in China -- and I would like to reflect on a few gossipy observations on the looks, feels and tastes of the modern Chinese urbanite – mostly relying on just a few days and many bird’s-eye-view subway rides in Beijing and Shanghai.

Needless to say, this is therefore neither anywhere close to complete nor based on solid empirics, let alone longitudinal observations. So here we go:

The Wild Wild West: There is a strong (and justified) pride among the Chinese for their cultural heritage and recent achievements as a nation. But still: There is adoration for the West and Western looks. TV and poster ads still feature beautiful Chinese people with big (sometimes Photoshoped big) eyes. Western brands are embraced especially when they additionally offer the promise of luxury (see below). Top Western architects and engineers are invited to work on the most prestigious buildings (e.g. the iconic Beijing “Bird’s Nest” stadium was designed by Herzog & de Meuron, Rem Kohlhaas was responsible for the design of the Beijing CCTV tower).

The Hipster (redefined): The young crowd (passing by our Disneyland Hutong window in Beijing) clearly has its own style, far from copying the Western one. There seems to be a heavy appetite for all flavours of colours plus moonboot sneakers, early 80s style (or the occasional fake brand sneakers).

Food and Drinks: Same preference for vivid colours here – the more neon and sugary the better. If available, some unhealthy looking chemicals are used to make the thing bubble on top adding to the nutritional excitement.

Mobile first, Mobile everywhere: No question about it, the new larger iphones will be a huge success here. They love mobile gadgets and they love’em big size. My overview during subway rides got even less obstructed given that the heads down generation lives here: 20% on some communication (however they manage to write messages given the alphabet has 6000 signs), 40% on moving images, looked like soaps and 40% on games (half of which featuring furry pink animals, the other half surprisingly classic ones like Tetris and 2048). All of this big screen action leads to high energy demand, so the battery pack is a frequent travelling companion.

European luxury brands: YES. And more of it, please. But it better be the top brands in every field.

Cars: In 2 Beijng days, I saw 3 public displays of luxury cars including Lamborghini and Porsche GT. Maybe needless to mention but still amazing to see: VW is actually THE Volkswagen at least in Beijing, period (or “Das Auto” if you prefer). Almost zero Golfs (Chinese prefer long limousines) but especially Passats and Jettas/Santanas are ubiquitous even in seemingly poor Hutong neighbourhoods where you would rather expect a Nissan Micra. A VW seems to be the luxury brand that people can just afford. Skoda does not seem to be a “Smart Choice” in China, yet but Japanese and Korean brands like Hyundai or Honda are also going strong.

Watches: Both in Beijing and Xi’An, upmarket European watchmakers (Omega, Rolex, Longines…) had all neatly gathered around a very central square forming a watchmall like I haven’t seen anywhere in Europe outside the Zurich airport.

But despite all the original brand excitement, the Chinese still take no issue in coming up with their own crocodiles and camels…