Wenjun Fang (wf646)
Social media and modern stall culture in China
It became a new trend to discover different night markets for the young generation in China. When you search ‘Night Market’ on a Chinese social media platform, you can easily find a lot of information with great images about the night markets that happened all over the nation. It became a stylish entertaining way for young people and a part of the new and fashionable lifestyle that is popular among the young generation.
The night market that is popular today looks different than the traditional night market in our memories. It always has a theme and usually unified on colors. Everything there looks tidy and neat, with wonderful decorations and furniture. Signboards are designed by the stall vendors themselves, which are full of creative ideas. Sophisticated handicrafts are the most common stuff in modern night markets. Within the popularity of ‘Chinese Style’ in recent years, traditional Chinese handicrafts like embroidery, paper cutting, and traditional hand-made jewelry all became the ‘must-go’ part of a modern night market.
Half of the vendors sell different kinds of elegant and fancy little goods, while the other half offers drinks and food. Unlike the traditional night market, people can easily find exotic ethnic cuisine here. Italian crepes, Mexico taco, yogurt cup with fruit and oat, as well as coffee with alternative oat milk…There are also stalls selling food and snacks that are common in China. Still, the vendors will pack the food in a fancy package, or the stall will have a modern concept on stall designing.
Such modern night markets are usually located in the midst of the city. Convenient transportation and modern design can easily attract many young people to visit, shop, take photos, and share on social media. Those posts will soon attract the second round of visitors who read those posts online. The trend happened when we are not recognizing. ‘Pop-up market’ is also the marketing concept that is usually used by those nigh markets. The organizer trying to attract as many visitors as possible quickly will get the highest return rate since they usually need to pay high rent and hire extra staff on site. It is more like an event that people can be shopping, socializing, and exploring something new, while the traditional night market is more an open-air shopping mall for people to solve the need for daily life. They are offering cheap and hot food as well as affordable clothes and daily supplies. Among the goods sold in the traditional night market, it’s a more realistic perspective on the world we live in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDG0ZwVXsXMhttp://
This video showing one of the most famous night market in Shanghai right now, which located at the Jingan Temple, called the Anyi Night Market.
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