Discussion keeps the world turning.
This is Roundtable.
Hello everybody, welcome to Roundtable.
Comey to you live from Beijing.
I'm Hayoung.
Good as always to have you join us on a day's show.
There's something undeniably enchanting about summer nights.
That transcends time.
The air filled with the scent of blooming flowers and freshly cut grass brings back memories
in the city.
The twinkling lights from high-rise buildings blend with the stars creating a magical skyline.
In this episode of our series, Spotlighting China's Night Economy, let's check out the tourist
attractions, cultural sites, and entertainment options in these Chinese cities that never
sleep.
And smart watches for kids have become the latest obsession at school.
We started out with just GPS and calling, but now they can do so much more.
Video calls, heart rate monitoring, and even games.
Some kids are getting distracted, staying up late, and constantly comparing who has the
best watch.
It's like a never ending competition, kind of like life.
To some extent.
So we're going to talk about, are these smart watches really helping or are they just
creating more problems, and if it's creating problems, what should we do about it?
For today's program, I'm joined by Yushun and Goulianyan in the studio.
First on a day's show.
As China's cities light up with the glow of night time economy, an array of travel,
entertainment, and cultural activities awaits night owl residents and curious tourists
alike.
The historic landmarks such as the Badalian Great Wall and natural wonders, such as the
Huangguo Shihuaterfall, are now accessible after dark, offering a different, nocturnal
experience.
And in the cities, it's the allure of rooftop bars.
I love those.
The rhythm of music spilling out from restaurants, the buzz of open air markets, vibrant evening
performances, and the exciting night life that keeps the streets alive.
This surge in night time adventures reflects a broader trend of integrating cultural heritage
with modern leisure, creating unforgettable night experiences.
And this is only the first time I'm going to say on this show that I can't wait for
night to fall, as we're doing this show.
So guys, what do the figures say when it comes to entertainment at night?
Yeah, so actually, the concept of this night tourism or night time has already expended
to include various areas, including elements like shopping, entertainment, cultural dining,
accommodation to form a very comprehensive night tourism product line.
And we can see a 2023 Xinghua report mentioned that China has established at least two
batches of 243 national night time cultural and tourism consumption areas, reflecting the
government's policy support for this night economy.
And you know, the holiday consumption trends among people also prove this point.
Data from Mei Tuan indicates a 127% month on month increase in night time consumption
during the Mayday holiday with a 60% year-on-year rise in entertainment orders.
So previously, when we thought of the night time economy, it was mainly about street vendors
and bustling markets.
But now, there are even more options like all of these entertainment and everything.
This has provided people with a more colorful and vibrant night life.
Right.
Yeah, I wonder if you're a night person at all, but for, I suppose some of my Chinese friends,
a lot of us, you know, are hardworking people and are cultured, especially if you're
from the northern part of the country when, you know, half of the years or at least in
winter time is very cold outside.
Then, you know, it's kind of different as opposed to what southerners in this country
enjoy.
They seem to be more like night owls.
They're used to coming out at night.
What am I talking about?
But you really enjoy night life.
And I, okay, this might be just, you know, some of the old impressions that I have, but
it's not for everyone in this country.
I think some people just like to go home, you know, anyhow, anyhow.
So I want to check with you.
What do you see as like night time tourism and also just even for local residents, you
know, this night time economy thing?
I've done a little bit self-reflection here and I think that hearing Beijing, actually,
I'm not, I've never been out, you know, to visit a night market or that famous quay, quay
shi, where, yeah, providing those antiques.
But as a tourist, I've been traveling around to, for example, like a high-nah or Chengdu
definitely because they have very good night life day over there.
And I, as a tourist, I have time to relax and to enjoy myself.
Of course, I would, I would go, I would visit, let's say, as many as
you know, those night streets or night markets recommended on social media.
And yeah, I think it depends.
Like you said, the location, the geographical location is quite important because here in
Northern part of China, let's say even in banter, right?
It could be not that friendly to a night life.
But I endure, so it's warm and cozy.
But maybe there would be other options like they can provide, let's say, indoor activities.
Hot springs would be a good option, right?
Yeah, definitely.
And some shopping mall, yeah, of course, yeah.
Yeah, definitely.
And also, I've talked to, you know, well, we work with an international crew and then some
folks from Great Britain and other places, you know, it's almost like pretty custom
married that, oh, let's go for a drink and after a long day at work, that kind of thing.
But for a lot of our Chinese fellow compatriots, it's more like, oh, I want to go home, maybe
cook a nice dinner or just just rest.
And so, you know, people have different ideas about this.
Obviously, some people really enjoy night life.
Even in a weekday.
But I think with, you know, now we have these new night time trends with even more, you
know, areas and places that you can go to even though it's indoor or even though it is
just really, really cold outside, for example, night time museum or nighttime library.
We're going to talk about later later.
Okay.
But anyway, this is, I think we are having more options.
Right.
And let me ask you this.
You should.
So let's try to put on our tourist caps here.
And let's say we're visiting new places and apparently night economy or this night tourism
slice of the economy is huge.
It's blowing up here in China.
So tell us what are the different types of tourist attractions at night?
Can we anticipate all over China?
So we can see several cities and counties have introduced nighttime tourism programs.
For example, the Badal in Great Wall in Beijing offers night visits with, you know, artistic
activities like dancing, musicals and songs, acrobatics, everything.
And, you know, also Lohmeng Grotto's in Luoyang in Hrenan Province in Central China
provide a taste of ancient culture.
They also offer a lot of, you know, colorful performances over there.
And I think these kind of, you know, opening of these new night tourism attractions not
only provides more, you know, choices, but also showcase different kinds of scenery.
You know, these night views, lighting and performances enrich the usual landscape of
these, I think unusual landscape of these attractions.
Yeah.
I think it's amazing.
For example, when you're climbing the Great Wall, you see...
Okay, be careful what you say.
They're cool too.
Yeah, of course.
But it's just being it.
But at the night time, it's a different picture.
Yes.
Yeah, I totally agree with that because Hanyang mentioned that Huanguo Shuiwaterfall in
Guizhou has opened to the public at night because I was Space Ains in Bobway.
Zimbabwe has this one of the seven or eight wonders of the world that Victoria falls.
And one of the three greatest waterfalls in the world actually.
And Victoria falls, it offers this special trip.
It is during the Fung Moon every month.
There would be lunar rainbow.
Can you imagine?
China.
Lunar rainbow.
At night?
At night when...
So the water is going to be so verly.
It depends on the weather.
It has to be clear sky.
The moon has not be blocked.
And then the water was spraying at a certain direction.
And you would see a rainbow actually the light was created by the moon.
Not a sun.
That sounds magical.
Yeah, so it's a different experience.
So definitely, you know, nighttime brings us different experience.
Definitely.
And during my recent trip to Yunnan Province on this wild adventure trying to spot
wild elephants and did I?
Well, you got to listen to that show to find out, all right?
Still keeping their suspense on.
So I was in Jinghong city, Sichuan Bay not die prefecture in Yunnan Province.
And I've been to a fair share of night markets.
But this one, the starlight night market or Xing Guangya sure really kind of blew my
mind.
The minute when I stepped into the entrance and you kind of need to swipe your ID card
to get in, but you don't need to pay for anything.
And it was basically a dazzling display of color and everywhere was like that.
So I suppose the magnitude of this night market was unprecedented at least according to my
own limited experience.
So it really just let up the sky of that area.
And I think it's a great place to visit if you happen to be in Yunnan Province.
And also one of the fascinating things about that night market is visitors could adorn
themselves and traditional die or other ethnic costumes for professional photo ops.
This doesn't sound like such a mind blowing option, but it was like jaw dropping for
me to see there were so many people doing it.
And they were they only allowed themselves like such a tiny little bit of room just to
get these photo ops because there were just so many people.
But it was a beautiful scene and we do have a video coming out today on Weibo on
the accounts of CGT and radio and Jou Shui and Huayang where you can see this video
which had a lot of fun shooting it.
And it only is one vivid example of how the night market really brings in revenue for
the local people as well as offering this vibrant colorful experience for the visitors that
can enjoy.
And also what else do we see as an important part of the night?
Well tourism slash economy here.
I think what you just list actually reflected this point.
A lot of smaller cities or county towns or central towns are becoming new growth points
for tourism.
The China Domestic Tourism Development Report published by China Tourism Research Institute
shows that as tourism enters a new stage of comprehensive development, smaller cities,
county towns and central towns have become these new places for domestic tourism.
And we can see for places like Yuanjia Village in Su Qian in Eastern China offering distinctive
nighttime cultural and tourism products.
I saw that they have a lot of activities like night performances, night exhibitions, night
tours, night meals, night shopping, night accommodations, everything.
You can't even take a cruise ship.
Yeah, it resumed its voyage on April 30th and Fujian province.
This is actually, and this boat tickets of this Shashi River tour are in high demand.
We can see all of these activities are offering people.
I think no matter you are maybe traveling in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai or you
can travel to some lesser known cities like these smaller towns and cities to have a special
and unique taste of night life in China.
Yes, so we've talked a lot about you know out in nature or in the open air.
These are all things you can discover and enjoy and what about you know, entertainment
at night.
A lot of this happens indoors and I can think of, I'm not, okay, this sounds a little nerdy.
But if you're somebody who's you know, dying with this thirst of knowledge, then yeah,
24 hour libraries, they sound pretty good.
Also maybe, well, I know some people treat them like study rooms, you know, in alternatives
of where you can try to be more focused and shift from home to get some studying done
or museums or 24 hour around the clock parks or whatnot.
So, Junya, what are some of the ones that stand out to you?
I think you know, for people like us, maybe KTV.
It's a good option.
With all of this museum libraries, it's so KTV.
Yeah, Junya likes to sing.
It's part of our gene, right?
KTV is a good option.
But for me, I think maybe library is also a good place to kill our time at night because
you know, it's just, it's amazing to know that there are so many opportunities for nighttime
economy, right?
And it's good to know that so many counties or big cities, they are offering their different
options based on their own characteristics.
And I know that we've got this big library in Shanghai, that a herping library in the
Herping Park in Shanghai.
This library constitutes a theme hall and art gallery, a central reading green space.
So can you imagine?
So library is not only about reading, it's also about taking a small tour around this
art gallery and enjoy a few picks.
So it's just give us so many things to enjoy.
And also there would be some immersive performance from different places.
In this restaurant in Tianjin, diners could randomly select character identities from
a character blind box and participating in the formal performance.
So this kind of interaction just gives them a different experience.
I remember while I was visiting, who are early this year, they had this dream hall, also
a cruise ship.
And so tourists just got on it and dressed like people in 1920s, Mingguo.
They would be different performances about the stories happening in Mingguo.
And tourists can be part of it, immersed themselves into different stories.
It's like some movie or TV drama going on and you're part of it, you're witnessing
it.
And so I think it's quite an experience.
Right.
Well, if I'm going to a performance and immersive performance, then I understand what you're
saying.
I think that could be fun.
But if I'm in a restaurant, just trying to mind my own business and have dinner, yeah,
it sounds like a little bit.
The restaurant should be paying me to dress up as the character.
That sounds like having a dinner plus a jubish hour scripted role playing.
Yeah, that's, I think also part of the design of this restaurant.
And if you're saying it is a night's life design.
I wouldn't say that this could be in my playlist, I would say, because it's supposed to be
a night if you're having a dinner, right?
And I think what attracts my attention.
Yeah, what attracts me.
I mean you.
Not all about you, Huyang.
Is these museums that is opening at night.
I think a lot of these museums are opening at night in Shanghai since 2020.
Night museum exhibitions have become a key event of Shanghai night's life.
I would say the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai History Museum, World Expo Museum, other major
museum have all extended their opening hours on weekends and some even offer simple meals.
Oh, maybe we're feeling tired or having hungry when visiting these museums and now you can
have a little meal there.
And also 24 hour parks.
So before you go there, can I please just cement your argument in providing an example?
Sure.
Yeah, I've actually visited one of these museums this spring in Shanghai.
The Museum of Art Pudong or MAP Pudong Mechuan.
Is it a new one?
It's pretty.
It's pretty new.
Yes, yes, it's pretty new.
And I can't remember the name of the architect, but he's one of those international big names
who designed this place and it offers a captivating night time experience that rivals the enchanting
adventures of the night at the museum franchise.
You know that movie series?
I can never mind.
There are three.
Everything comes into life in the museum.
That's what the movies are about.
Anyway, so this museum's late night sessions are highly sought after with reservations
often filling up quickly and its popularity is driven by the high quality exhibitions and
significant artifacts on display.
The most recent one is glorious era, Spanish stories from the Prado Museum exhibition,
which features 70 original oil paintings, many of which are being shown in Asia for the
very first time.
And the time when I went, it was absolutely amazing.
I saw Carri Vaggio's iconic masterpiece, boy with a basket of fruit up close.
And also this museum's unique location provides breathtaking views of Shanghai's iconic
skyline from the terrace.
And this is usually the ending bit of your trip to that museum.
You have to go to the terrace, even if it's raining.
And then visitors can admire the Oriental Pearl Tower up close and take in the parod,
panoramic view of the Buns historic buildings illuminated at night.
So go there at 6 p.m. sharp.
That's when the Dung Guangxi Old stars.
That's when the lights go on and then got to take a picture there.
So you know, this museum, thanks to its location.
As well as the fabulous arch displays, has quickly become one of the must see places
if you want a little bit of culture.
And also taking part in the night economy.
Of course, I think these is a great opportunity when you can experience both something artistic
and metropolis.
Because when you're at that location, you can see both the art thing and also the view
of Shanghai.
Yes.
So yeah, that is a great, I think, choice.
I think so too.
And also you mentioned 24 hour parks.
Parks, yes.
You can do a lot of stuff there.
Of course.
Wife sounds not very.
According to some reports, by the end of 2023, over 70% of Shanghai's 832 urban parks
were open 24 hours a day.
And I think a lot of at least open parks in China or in Beijing are all, I think, 24 hours
because it's open and you can get in there and basically do whatever you want.
But no, just go for a night stroll.
Yes.
I think the important thing is that they have the basic infrastructure over there, the lights
and the place.
And you can actually use the facilities over there.
And I think it is a great chance for a lot of people who maybe they enjoy outdoor life
but they have daytime work, a job.
So they have to go outside or there is a place for them to go outside and enjoy the
nature, enjoy the outdoor activities for their own.
And certainly some people argue at least if you look at what people's preferences and
habits tend to be in China, they say that the nighttime activities might have been neglected
in the past.
Well, we do see in recent years, and also this comes from a push, some would say, maybe
this is from the government, some say this is from businesses or maybe the two combined
that nighttime is a business opportunity as well.
And I think in recent years we're seeing there's definitely more attention given to this
part of the economy and the hopes of, you know, well, it's offering more entertainment
or leisure options for people as well as consumption.
Yeah.
And I think maybe even on the government side, maybe they can provide some extra service.
They can't stand their opening hours till night so that people can visit to have their
ID card updated or passports.
Yeah, I got there in the passport or things like that at night because or even during
weekends, because usually they're opening hours on the weekdays.
So it could be a problem for us who's been working during the daytime.
Right.
Well, that means maybe these institutions need to have an evening shift for its employees.
I'm not sure if they'd be super happy about that, but certainly one thing I can attest
to is that banking service would, it would be great if they could extend to their business
hours a bit.
And also some people say that in order for all this night activity to flourish, you need
extra manpower, you need technology issue.
Of course.
Well, people need to feel safe to go out and I think luckily in China, I think this
is not that big of a salient issue that people think about.
Well, because usually people do feel quite safe and I have been to, I'll go back to the
night market experience in Jinghong.
Actually, because it's a very hot place and during the day, it's kind of quiet, but
that night everything comes up alive and that's a great feeling and reflects the local
economy and climate too.
