{"id":1318,"date":"2023-10-24T03:59:17","date_gmt":"2023-10-23T19:59:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/2023\/10\/24\/heritage-is-hip-with-chinese-millennials\/"},"modified":"2024-07-01T23:34:44","modified_gmt":"2024-07-01T15:34:44","slug":"is-hip-with-chinese-millennials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/is-hip-with-chinese-millennials\/","title":{"rendered":"Heritage is Hip With Chinese Millennials"},"content":{"rendered":"

In recent months, interest in traditional Chinese culture<\/a> has surged among Chinese millennials. It\u2019s a trend that has impacted their daily lifestyles, creative expression, and consumption behavior.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In recent months, interest in traditional\u00a0Chinese culture\u00a0has surged among Chinese millennials<\/a>. It\u2019s a trend that has impacted their daily lifestyles, creative expression, and\u00a0consumption behavior.<\/p>\n

With no memories of the anti-intellectual Cultural Revolution, Chinese Millennials have\u00a0a voracious appetite for knowledge and discovery. And\u00a0they are searching for more meaning from their purchases.\u00a0According to the\u00a02017 China Cultural Industry Series Index,\u00a0post-90s Chinese are the most willing to spend on culture.<\/p>\n

\"Heritage<\/p>\n

Digging into their culture and heritage has become a very popular way for China\u2019s younger generation\u00a0to explore their own identities. The country\u2019s long and\u00a0complex history\u00a0offers discoveries that go well beyond state-sanctioned national pride. These younger generations are developing a profound interest in their country\u2019s material historical culture, becoming experts in different periods, and forging emotional connections to their aesthetics.\u201cTang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, each have their own specific styles. Instead of repeating superficial Chinese aesthetics, it\u2019s better to go deeper in a specific period,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0Yu Yuzhou, a 24-year-old student, for example.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bling bling, gold, red with green is actually the aesthetic of Manchu. The aesthetic of Han is simple and elegant,\u201d said Sha Chenyu, 23-year-old student.<\/p>\n

This phenomenon is also supported by the fashion and beauty industries, who are adapting their products and communications by\u00a0modernizing<\/a> heritage in a way that\u00a0appeases the censors but still intrigues this fast, ultra-connected and curious generation.<\/p>\n

Here, we\u2019ve selected five initiatives that illustrate how\u00a0Chinese heritage\u00a0is being adapted for Chinese millennials, and analyzed what international luxury brands can learn from the trend.<\/p>\n

\"Chinese<\/p>\n

Image: Forbidden City<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Branded Items from The Forbidden City<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Forbidden City, with its 600-year history, recently\u00a0went viral with Chinese millennials. They developed a line of products adapted to the lives of young people based on studies of consumer\u2019s demand. They managed to transform history into\u00a0products like calendars and decorative tape.<\/p>\n

They also hired a young team using new digital tools and Millennial lexicon to communicate with them, helping the Forbidden City update its old-fashioned, out of touch image.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Image: Taobao<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

2. TV show\u00a0National Treasure\u00a0on Bilibili<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The\u00a0National Treasures\u00a0(\u56fd\u5bb6\u5b9d\u85cf) TV show\u00a0on CCTV-3 has been a surprise hit among the post-90s generation. Nine museums around China are invited to participate in the show, and each brings three significant artifacts from their collections. Spectators are invited to vote online for their favorite, which will be showcased in the final exhibition at the Forbidden City later this year.<\/p>\n

The production makes the story of the artifacts easy to understand by enlisting famous celebrities to play roles and narrate the pieces\u2019 legendary histories. CCTV-3 also created an official account on\u00a0Bilibili, a youth-dominated video platform,\u00a0which allows young viewers to send comments flying across videos in a \u201cbullet screen\u201d. The content garnered a huge amount of attention, reaching 16.8 million views on the platform so far.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Image: National Treasure<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

3. Arts and crafts collaborations by Pechoin<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pechoin introduced a limited gift set on Singles\u2019 Day in 2017 that included an exclusive hairpin designed by Zhong Hua, a jewelry designer and consultant for the Forbidden City. They made a short video to present the entire production process, from inspiration through ancient imperial craftsmanship. It reconnects the notion of luxury with the brand\u2019s roots.\u00a0The gift sets sold out in 35 seconds.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Image: Zhong Hua<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

4. Mukzin revisits historical fashions\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mukzin is a Chinese style street fashion brand\u00a0founded by two local designers who studied abroad. Their designs are inspired by the \u201cOriental Fever\u201d trend, modernizing traditional Chinese\u00a0aesthetics after finding mainstream fashion too Westernized.\u00a0Mukzin is reviving China\u2019s own diverse \u201csavoir-faire\u201d through various unique Chinese folk arts.<\/p>\n

\"Heritage<\/p>\n

Muzkin\u2019s first couture series, Mukzin\u00a0Traditional Handicraft (2016), adopted the intangible cultural heritage of Xinjiang province\u00a0and its particular embroidery technique to create beautiful, unique pieces. Even the photo shoot was done with the help of local artists.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Image: Weibo<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

5. Hey Tea puts a twist on tea culture<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tea culture is part of China\u2019s history, but the younger generation has gradually turned to coffee with the\u00a0influence\u00a0of Western culture and the near-spontaneous spread of Starbucks. But nowadays, it is very common to\u00a0see millennials queuing for a cup of tea from Heytea,\u00a0a must-go among Chinese Millennials.<\/p>\n

Heytea try to honor the tea leaf while adapting it to the younger generation in unique recipes, such as cheese tea and fresh fruit tea. Heytea has simplified the habit of drinking tea, making it more more casual than the traditional tea ceremony without\u00a0eroding the quality, for instance by using tea powder instead of leaves. Its stores are comfortable, and\u00a0customers are encouraged to take pictures and share them on their social media<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ancient aesthetics and history are attractive to this new generation, and even more so when brands embrace Millennials\u2019 digital channels and cultural codes.<\/p>\n

Sharing their own heritage and know-how in a cool, modern way<\/p>\n

That young Chinese have a thirst for their own heritage does not preclude them from being interested in other stories. A brand\u2019s story may be precious and inspiring, but to reach Chinese millennials we should also dare to communicate these stories using new\u00a0digital tools and distribution paths.<\/p>\n

Building a deeper knowledge of Chinese culture and history<\/p>\n

A superficial cultural background will not only be unsuccessful but might also cause Millennials to mock you online. More precise knowledge that doesn\u2019t condescend to Millennials but helps them explore Chinese culture further is far more welcome.<\/p>\n

Reviving ancient arts and crafts with the help of local experts and designers<\/p>\n

Younger Chinese generations are only just begun to dig into their traditional culture, and they\u2019re eager to discover more. Foreign luxury brands can support the ongoing cultural revival by\u00a0financing cultural programs, developing specific products in partnership with local artisans, or by drawing on their own\u00a0specific know-how. Cartier, for example, collaborated with Chinese artisans to restore antique timepieces from the Forbidden City\u2019s Palace Museum.<\/p>\n

Source: Jing Daily<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In recent months, interest in traditional Chinese culture has surged among Chinese millennials. It\u2019s a trend that has impacted their daily lifestyles, creative expression, and consumption behavior. In recent months, …","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[60,386,306,29,559,826],"class_list":["post-1318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pro-tips","tag-china","tag-chinese-culture","tag-hiredchina","tag-jobs","tag-marketing","tag-social-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1318"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1318\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11758,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1318\/revisions\/11758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}