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Here's the news. During this year's Double Eleven Shopping Festival, the burgeoning emotional economy revealed a major shift in the Chinese consumer market, especially among younger generations.
According to a report from social platform SoulApp, more than 40 % of young consumers now prioritize emotional value when making purchasing decisions.
Products that may not necessarily serve a functional purpose, but offer the buyer emotional fulfillment such as companionship dolls and blind boxes have become central to the purchasing logic of Generation Z.
Starting in mid -October, major e -commerce platforms, including Teemal and JD .com, kicked off their annual weeks -long promotional campaigns.
The shopping spree, which has been held for over a decade, has become a key window for observing evolving consumer trends.
The Seoul app report showed that spending on joyful consumption during this year's Double 11 included significant portions going towards travel -related products, gaming, and festivals and comedy shows, as well as trendy collectibles such as blind boxes.
Dong Ji -jo, analyst of China Consumer and Property Research at Nomura, noted that consumers Customers are spending money not just for necessity but to fulfill emotional needs.
These emotional values can vary widely, including pleasing oneself or simply trying something new like cultural tourism or niche fashion choices.
Some of the sensational sellers might seem bizarre to traditional consumers, with products products, including green bananas with no anxiety tags, plush toys shaped like hairy crabs, and Brain of Einstein, a hilarious virtual product at an extremely low price, with the seller claiming that buyers of this product will automatically gain extraordinary wisdom.
A report released by Premiere Partners, a Hong Kong -based ETFs issuer, highlighted Chinese people's pursuit of high -quality lifestyle and the long -term positive development of society as GDP per capita moves up and people seek higher -level demand according to Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
Analyst Dong Ji -jo explained that Chinese consumers are becoming more confident.
They no longer feel the need to wear luxury brands to showcase their social status or identity, particularly among the younger generation.
For businesses, leveraging the rise of emotional consumption could be crucial to staying competitive.
Wang Yuanliang, a researcher at Hunan Academy of Social Sciences, suggested that companies should more vigorously tap into the emotional value behind their products, infuse new attributes and cultural elements, and create unique consumer experiences through innovation.
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A bus fleet equipped with a homegrown navigation system and other technologies is providing a hailing service for 120 ,000 residents in Zhuzhou in central China's Hunan Province.
With only two yuan, about 28 US cents, residents can make a quick online reservation to hail a bus by mobile phone and bored within 5 to 10 minutes via nearly 100 virtual bus stops.
According to the fleet's operator, Jujul Bus, these buses were put into trial operation in mid -October and runs from 7 a .m.
to 10 p .m. in a region where nine vocational education colleges and other residential communities are located.
Developed by the Chinese automaker, CRRC Electric Vehicle Corporation, engine.
Such buses are some five metres long and empowered by technologies including the Bay -Dle navigation satellite system and big data analysis.
According to the automaker, Such vehicles can travel on narrow highways without fixed routes or designated stops, through a self -developed reservation platform.
A driving route can be automatically tailored for passengers.
When multiple ride requests are received, the platform combines nearby or similar destinations to create an efficient shared route.
This way, buses can be precisely dispatched to provide direct point -to -point service, allowing each trip to respond to real -time needs rather than following predetermined stops.
Liu Weidong, deputy general manager of Zhuzhou Bus, said that such a bus fleet not only advances low -carbon transit but also enhances intelligent transit operations." Liu added that such services have great potential in urban communities and remote industrial parks.
China owns an extensive urban public transportation system.
According to Wang Xiu -Chuan with the Ministry of Transport, China had 79 ,800 urban public bus operating lines with a total length of 1 .73 million kilometers by the end of last year.
Wang said that many cities have customized bus routes for specific communities and have enabled intelligent transformations such as real -time travel information access and convenient mobile payment options.
Xiongang, a technician with the CRRC, electric vehicle corporation said that they are considering equipping the bus fleet in Juuljo with L4 driving in the future which stands for high automation!
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A museum collecting cultural relics dating back 3 ,900 to 4 ,300 years has opened in North China's Shanxi Province, offering a look at early Chinese state formation and societal complexity.
Located in Xiangfen County, the Taozi Site Museum is built on the northwestern edge of the Tao Tzu relics site following 46 years of archaeological work.
The Tao Tzu site is believed to be most likely the ruins of the capital city during the period of Yao and Shun, two sage emperors dating back more than 4100 years.
Visitors can interact with a sand table to view the map of the city, covering over 2 .8 million square meters.
The differences between the ruler's palace and common people's dwellings clearly show a hierarchical system at the time.
A total of 230 items or sets of cultural relics are on display, showing the culture and life of ancient inhabitants, including items of pottery, jade, stone and copper.
The museum also exhibits relics that some scholars speculate may be related to astronomical observation and timekeeping.
experts said that the site reflects the early characteristics of a state society foreshadowing later dynastic structures.
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Pine Mine and Cyprus are not simply two kinds of trees in the minds of the Chinese people.
They have been personified in literature, paintings, and other artistic creations throughout history.
as Chinese people possess unique feelings and emotion toward these two plants.
These two trees are often mentioned together as songbai with song meaning pine pine, and by meaning cypress.
Some royal gardens and historic sites feature pine and cypress trees that are thousands of years old, stretching back to the cradle era of Chinese civilization.
As a result, pine and cypress occupy a special place in the cultural landscape of China.
The pine or song has needle -like leaves that minimize water loss, a feature enabling it to thrive in cold and arid conditions.
Each needle has a thick cuticle and a waxy outer membrane that further reduces water loss.
This resilience has led to pines being one of the three friends in the cold.
alongside plum and bamboo, plants valued by the Chinese literati for their ability to endure harsh winters.
Cyprus, or Bai, is widely distributed across China from the northern provinces of Inner Mongolia and Jilin to the southern regions of Guangdong and Guangxi.
Cypress branches are dense, creating dark green cone -shaped crowns.
Confucius once remarked, only in the cold winter does one know that the pine and cypress are the last to shed their leaves.
This evergreen quality of both pine and cypress is central to their symbolism in Chinese culture, symbolizing resilience and unwavering strength.
For this reason they are frequently planted together in gardens and celebrated as Songbai.
Another reason for the Chinese reverence of pine and cypress is their remarkable longevity.
There's a popular saying 1000 -year turtle, 10 ,000 -year pine, which, though slightly exaggerated, reflects the Chinese respect for these trees' enduring presence.
In fact, phrases like bu lao song, or the pine that never ages, have become symbols of longevity in Chinese culture.
China is home to many famous ancient pines, including one in Beijing's Beihai Park that is over 800 years old.
It caught the eye of Emperor Qianlong during a summer visit, earning the title Marquis shade due to its vast canopy." Similarly, the cypress stands as an emblem of longevity.
One remarkable place to witness ancient cypresses is Huangling County in northwest China's Shanxi Province.
huangling, meaning the mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor holds over 80 ,000 ancient cypresses, one of which is said to have been planted by the Yellow Emperor himself and is known as the father of cypresses.
After more than 5 ,000 years, these trees remain vibrant, with lush branches standing as powerful symbols of endurance and beauty in Chinese culture.
Standing tall through the ages, the pine and cypress are timeless symbols of resilience and endurance embodying the spirit and values that have shaped Chinese Culture for Millennia.
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That's the end of this edition of Special English.
To recap, I'm going to read one of the news items again at normal speed.
Please listen carefully.
A bus fleet, equipped with a homegrown navigation system and other technologies, series, is providing a hailing service for 120 ,000 residents in Zhuzhou, in central China's Hunan Province.
With only two yuan, about 28 US cents, residents can make a quick online reservation to hail a bus by mobile phone and board within five to ten minutes via nearly 100 virtual bus stops.
According to the fleet's operator, Zhuzhou Bus, these buses were put into trial operation in mid -October and runs from 7 a .m.
to 10 p .m. in a region where nine vocational education colleges and other residential communities are located.
Developed by the Chinese automaker CRRC Electric Vehicle Corporation, such buses are some five meters long and empowered by technologies including the Baidou Navigation Satellite system and big data analysis.
According to the automaker, such vehicles can travel on narrow highways without fixed routes or designated stops.
Through a self -developed reservation platform, a driving route can be automatically tailored for passengers.
When multiple ride requests are received, the platform combines nearby or similar destinations to create an efficient shared route.
This way, buses can be precisely dispatched to provide direct, point -to -point service, allowing each trip to respond to real -time needs rather than following predetermined stops.
Liu Weidong, deputy general manager of Jujou Bus, said that such a bus fleet not only advances low -carbon transit, but also enhances intelligent transit operations.
Liu added that such services have great potential in urban communities and remote industrial Ontario Parks.
China owns an extensive urban public transportation system.
According to Wang Shiu -Chun with the Ministry of Transport, China has 79 ,800 urban public bus operating lines with a total length of 1 .73 million kilometers by the end of last year.
Wang said that many cities have customized bus routes for specific communities and have enabled intelligent transformations such as real -time travel information access and convenient mobile payment options.
Xiongang, a technician with the CRRC Electric Vehicle Corporation, said that they are considering equipping the bus fleet in Juzhou, with L4 driving in the future, which stands for High Automation.
This is the end of today's program.
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