From Buy to Borrow: How Young Chinese Are Driving the Rental Boom
Discover how young Chinese consumers are embracing rentals—from designer toys to electronics—the lives of migrant workers in the town that produces China’s national liquor, Kweichow Moutai, and more
Hello TWOC readers!
With a new iPhone dropping every year, each with only a slightly upgraded camera, and high-end cameras used mostly for the occasional trip, many people in China just can’t keep up with the upgrade anymore.
This, combined with a mentality shift as young consumers increasingly prioritize value over status, has fueled a booming rental market—where you can enjoy a week’s fun of flying a 4,000-yuan DJI drone for just a few hundred yuan.
Yet challenges remain in trust, regulation, and platform safeguards. Read our latest feature to find out more:
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From Buy to Borrow: How Young Chinese Are Driving the Rental Boom
Prioritizing value over status, young consumers are embracing rentals, from designer toys to electronics, yet challenges remain in trust, regulation, and platform safeguards. Read more
Maotai Drifters: Work and Life in China’s Liquor Capital
Photographer Ma Changyu, a former worker in Maotai, documents the surreal contrasts of solitude and bustle that define the baijiu-producing town. Read more
The Second Tale: Tradition Meets the Self in “YAO-Chinese Folktales 2”
The sequel to China’s beloved animation anthology turns boldly inward, but not every story finds its footing. Read more
What We’re Reading
Women, Seated: A Story of Female Relationships and Class Tension in Contemporary China
In her latest novel, Zhang Yueran offers a stark, nuanced portrait of three women from different socioeconomic backgrounds navigating power, desire, the men in their lives, and a fraught bond that begins to unravel in the wake of an abduction and a corruption arrest. Read more
Chinese You Need
An AI Guru Has Become a New Battleground Between Young and Old
Chinese millennials have found an unlikely ally: an AI-generated elder who preaches what they can’t. Learn more
Buy Our Latest Issue
New Markets, Young Makers: How Millennials and Gen Z Are Shaping the Future of Consumption
Catapulted by the rise of designer toys, the “emotional economy (情绪经济)” emerged as one of China’s hottest buzzwords in 2025, as millennials and Gen Z gravitated toward brands offering enjoyment, comfort, and self-expression. At the same time, thrift- and sustainability-minded consumers are driving a booming secondhand market, while the next generation of factory owners steps into leadership within their family businesses. All this and more in our latest magazine issue. Support on-the-ground reporting from China—get your copy today!