As young Chinese consumers prepare for the upcoming Spring Festival, they are driving a shift in traditional shopping habits, adding emotional and cultural meaning to their holiday purchases.
Falling on Feb 17 this year, the Spring Festival marks the start of the Chinese New Year and ushers in the Year of the Horse, the seventh animal in the Chinese zodiac.
Buying new clothes has long been part of the cultural customs surrounding Chinese New Year. But among younger shoppers, there is a growing demand for designs that are not only festive but culturally rooted, blending traditional Chinese elements with modern flair. This movement has given rise to a major trend in domestic fashion known as "New Chinese Style."
According to recent industry estimates, China's new Chinese-style fashion market is now valued at approximately 36 billion U.S. dollars, with the Chinese New Year season marking its strongest sales period.
Yang Lingling, founder of Mi Dong Fang, a brand for new Chinese-style clothing said that the visitor flow of the store has been steadily increasing since the first of January.
With the Year of the Horse approaching, items featuring horse motifs -- along with designs carrying auspicious meanings -- are among the best-sellers.
"This piece is called Galloping Horse Welcoming Spring. This one is in festive New Year red. The cuffs feature tiny horses carrying money bags," Yang said.
But the store owner believes the emotional satisfaction of buying New Chinese Style goes beyond simply wishing for good fortune.
"Customers have a deep recognition of traditional Chinese culture," she noted.
This sense of cultural pride is also echoed by designer Li Guanyu. The Year of the Horse cultural and creative products created by him and his team have been well received by younger consumers.
"China is already very strong when these young people were born, so they fully embrace the beautiful aspects of our traditional culture," said Li Guanyu, General Manager of Bushes Culture.
Li says sales of Year of the Horse products are particularly strong compared with previous years, thanks to growing interest among young people in cultural and creative products. And the best-selling products are those that combine traditional elements with playful or fun features.
"For example, this one is inspired by the rocking horse that children play on. We then added traditional Chinese symbols of good luck -- a chubby god of wealth holding a big gold ingot, sitting on the horse," explained Li.
From traditional motifs to creative designs, these products let young shoppers connect with Chinese heritage in a fun and meaningful way -- giving them a strong emotional satisfaction as they express their personality and cultural identity during the Chinese New Year.
Young Chinese consumers add emotional value to Spring Festival shopping
South China's Guangdong Province is accelerating its transformation into an international medical tourism hub, positioning itself as a destination for patients worldwide seeking affordable, high-quality care.
The push follows a joint initiative announced in late March by nine Chinese government departments, including the Ministry of Commerce, aimed at boosting spending by foreign tourists and enhancing exports of tourism services as part of broader efforts to expand the country's service sector.
Every day, some of the most complex surgeries are performed here. Li Zilun, deputy director of the division of vascular surgery at the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat‑sen University, is among the doctors capable of carrying out these intricate procedures.
He recently completed surgery on a patient with an aortic aneurysm, a condition often described as a "time bomb" in the body’s main artery, increasingly common in aging societies around the globe. Li also specializes in highly difficult and pioneering procedures, including repairing leaks caused by failed grafts.
"This was a very challenging case. And then, we implanted the covered stent to eliminate the endoleak. Actually, the outcome was pretty good. The patient will be discharged today," said Li Zilun.
The ability to handle such complex cases -- combining international techniques with domestically produced devices -- is drawing patients from around the world to seek treatment. In addition, high safety standards and low costs are also major draws.
"Our government is encouraging innovation. So, lots of physicians -- including our vascular surgeons -- we are actively involved in the innovation that helps to increase the effectiveness and safety, and also bring down the cost," said Li.
This hospital is one of the first in Guangdong to be designated by the provincial health commission as a pilot site for building an international medical service hub.
The growing number of patients has pushed the hospital to explore new ways to transform every step -- from treatment to payment and everything in between -- into a seamless experience, reducing waiting times and delivering better care for patients.
"I think it's fast. When the patient come here for just about, I think, one week, you can solve the problem," said Xiao Haipeng, president of the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University.
The hospital is also deepening its international cooperation with top-tier medical institutions, including those at Harvard University.
"Not just for China, for the whole globe, we are facing health care challenges -- emerging infectious disease and chronic, lung infectious diseases, and also the aging population, also the shortage of healthcare workforce," said Xiao.
In response to these challenges, China is promoting its own solutions, including aggressive innovation in artificial intelligence (AI)-driven workflows, while stepping up research and development investment and global engagement along the way.
"In recent years, the innovation in Western medicine is dramatically growing. An example of my hospital -- in the past few years, we have 140 innovations and seven of them are international leading innovations," said Xiao.
As global demand for medical tourism grows, China is positioning itself as a new destination. Official data shows that the number of foreign patients in Guangdong increased by 20 percent last year. Among them, the growth in inpatient admissions was even faster, rising by 76 percent.
Guangdong fast-tracks pilot for int'l medical service hub
