Sparking Consumption Nighttime economy across China adds vitality to urban life
With the roasted beef sizzling and guests sipping cold beer, business is again booming at a barbecue restaurant in Sanhe City, north China’s Hebei Province. The 32-yearold owner, Du Chunyu, opened the restaurant at the end of 2019. But unfortunately, they ran out of business soon after, as the COVID-19 epidemic hit the pause button for the catering industry across the country early this year.
“After more than 70 days of suspension, my wait for customers was finally over,” Du told his followers on Kuaishou, a Chinese livestreaming platform. We open at 4 p.m. every day, and you are welcome to visit and enjoy the delicious barbecue, Du added.
With the gradual easing of the epidemic prevention across the country, the business of catering, shopping malls, tourism and other industries is slowly recovering in China. Thanks to the measures to promote nighttime economy in various places, many people like Du have set their sights on the night time.
A driving force
Fragrant flowers, fine wine, delicious food ... Stalls lined up along the street welcome pedestrians and tourists during a special event in the Anyi Road Night Market, a 264meter lane located just a block away from the bustling West Nanjing Road in Shanghai, which reopened on May 30.
Huang Ning, Deputy Manager of the Jing’an Kerry Center, the organizer of the event, said the night market was widely recognized and praised after it was launched last year, driving double-digit sales growth of the surrounding shops.
This year, the market has been upgraded with more promotion activities, an effort to let customers have unique experience. Meanwhile, the market has extended its operating hours from noon to 11 p.m. on the weekends and statutory holidays, providing visitors with more flexible options.
Like the self-employed vendors on the street, some companies are also adding vitality to the night. As the night shift begins at around 8:00 p.m., the lights in an assembly workshop of Great Wall Motor (GWM), a leading SUV maker in China, are turned on. Then comes a roaring sound of machinery.
More than 500 workers get busy assembling automobiles.
“This production line is back to normal, pushing up the production capacity of the whole plant,” said Zhang Guoxin, General Manager of GWM Tianjin Haval Branch. According to him, even in the first quarter when the economy suffered the worst epidemic-induced slump, GWM continued to “replenish” the worldwide inventory with the exports of a total of 15,000 vehicles.
“Nighttime economy is the result of the development of cities and industries to a certain stage,” said Ding Hong, a researcher with the Jiangsu Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, noting that it benefits people’s livelihood and economic and social development. One indicator of a city’s vitality is how bright the lights are at night. The satellite imagery shows that the more economically developed an area is, the brighter the night, Ding added.
According to China’s State Information Center, the brightness of night lights in China increased by nearly 200 percent in early April compared to the beginning of February.
In May, a report focusing on the nighttime economy released by Alibaba Group showed that the nighttime consumption in the 12 surveyed large and medium-sized cities accounted for 43 percent of the total sales in a day. The report also pointed out that the scope of the nighttime economy is not limited to catering, but includes even more popular activities in the field of culture and entertainment.
Enriching the life
The night life of people in Suzhou, east China’s Jiangsu Province, has been more colorful since April, when a program called Gusu 8:30 P.M. was launched. In the night, cheers and claps to music and performances fill the waterways of the city known as the “Venice of the East.”
A canal tour launched by Xinzhenyuan, a Suzhou snack chain, has especially attracted the attention of residents and tourists.
According to Lin Bo, General Manager of Xinzhenyuan, the chefs prepare local food and serve on the tour boats. Tourists can enjoy the ancient canal night tour and local opera on board while tasting local stacks. “There is beauty in your eyes, opera in your ears, and local delicacies in your mouth,” a tourist said after the experience.
Suzhou is also known as the “City of Gardens.” In the Canglang Pavilion built in 1044, the live-action version of the famous Kunqu Opera Six Records of a Floating Life is staged at night.
“The performance creates an imagery of the past in a real scene to provide an immersive experience to the audience. It also lets the audience participate with the actors in the play step by step,” said Liu Xinyue, a tourist to Suzhou.
In neighboring Shanghai, at the First Shanghai Night Life Festival which kicked off on June 6, the Shanghai Museum held a calligraphy exhibition and other special nighttime cultural events for visitors.
“There are more and more people who not only want to visit the museum but also hope to participate in some experiential activities,” said Li Feng, Deputy Director of the Shanghai Museum. We wish these activities can provide people with a more diverse and memorable experience, Li added.
In addition to the night museum, people can also go inside the night bookstores. Nearly 30 physical bookstores participated in the festival. “Physical bookstores have the
The nighttime economy is becoming a new engine for enhancing urban vitality and driving social development.
dual attributes of providing cultural space and commercial space to consumers, which meets the more intrinsic cultural consumption demand and is an indispensable business for the city,” said Zheng Chongxuan, a researcher with the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. The festival doesn’t just extend the business hours, but also injects momentum to the nighttime economy.
Challenges ahead
The nighttime economy is becoming a new engine for enhancing urban vitality and driving social development. Many cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou have successively introduced measures to support nighttime activities. However, problems, such as weak management and high labor costs, create roadblocks to its growth.
Bian Zhicun, a professor of Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, said that the nighttime economy of many cities is still comprised of traditional catering, shopping and other single-business entities. Innovative and high-quality products and services are still lacking.
Still, the nighttime economy has become a symbol of a city’s prosperity and stimulates the vitality of people’s life. At 5 a.m., the daylight has already descended on the street. But Du has just cleaned up his barbecue restaurant and is getting ready to rest. CA