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I'm Steve Hatherly today with Yushan and Yushun.
Coming up.
Around the world, a new lifestyle is catching on and it looks a lot like everyday life here in China.
From hot drinks and house slippers to morning jumps.
Why are young people everywhere suddenly embracing this gentle, intentional way of living?
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Have you ever caught yourself choosing hot water over iced coffee, reaching for house slippers the moment you get home, or doing a few awkward jumps in the morning just to get your energy moving?
If you answered yes to any of those questions, you might already be living what the internet is calling a very Chinese time in your life.
What started as self-aware humor on social media has quietly turned into a global lifestyle movement.
From herbal teas and warm breakfast to qigong, lymph... Did I say that right?
Why are you laughing at me already?
Not laughing.
You're my... Yushan's my pronunciation.
That's an encouraging smile.
We're going to talk about what that is.
Also, lymph moving jumps.
We'll discuss this as well.
And an obsession, a small obsession with internal balance.
Young people around the world are now leaning into habits long associated with everyday life.
Here in China, and it's not just a trendy thing anymore.
It's about comfort and order and taking care of your body in small, intentional ways.
There are a lot of fun things to discuss here, for example, why so many young people around the world are suddenly embracing this very Chinese way of life.
But let's start with that what does it mean to live a Chinese way of life?
Or I guess the phrase that's popular these days is, you met me at a very Chinese stage in my life.
Yeah, the social media never run out of interesting, cute little trends.
Right.
So, in this current social media context, what you just mentioned, this particular stage of your Chinese stage of your life, points to a phase where someone actively engages with the Chinese style lifestyle.
That's most most of which are rather healthy.
It includes things really normal things to the Chinese but to people outside of this culture might find a bit strange, like swiping ice drinks for warm water or apple tea, herbal tea.
I guess herbal tea is old-fashioned, but apple tea, which is boiled apple with jujubee in in sometimes only boiled apple, it's the new fashion.
And then there are strictly um wearing health slippers instead of just walking with barefoot or walking with your socks.
I only learned recently that people, for example in the us or in canada, i'm not sure walk in in their home with no slippers.
Yeah, what do you wear?
Yeah socks right, He sounds shocked.
You sound shocked and disgusted at the same time.
Nearly shocked.
No, I thought you were just wearing your shoes all the time and walk with it everywhere.
No, this is true.
Everybody that you know my time in Korea and my time in China.
Everybody says oh, Canadians and Americans, you guys just wear your shoes like 24 hours a day, right?
Like, no, you're watching television.
And those actors are on a TV set, so they don't walk around in their socks.
But I understand where the idea comes from.
But yeah, slippers.
Yeah, some people wear slippers in the home.
But sure, socks is totally and completely acceptable as well.
Sure.
So this whole trend actually comes from a movie.
Remember that 1999 movie Fight Club?
Oh, Brad Pitt.
Yeah.
Where the narrator says to another one at the very end of the movie you met me at a very strange time in my life.
That's where this whole thing you met me at a very Chinese time stage in my life comes from.
So the internet, it borrowed it and then ran with it.
And at this point, the meme has nothing to do with the movie at all.
It just keeps on the vibe and it becomes something so viral that everybody wants to try.
And once they try it, they can't stop.
So this first popped up.
This is fun.
It first popped up on X or Twitter back in April of last year.
And from there, it just kind of snowballed.
And then, before long, it turned into this what it is now, this full-blown global trend where people everywhere are putting their own spin on this very Chinese time in their life, whatever it happens to mean to them.
And it kind of got onto our radar earlier this year because on Weibo there's a There's been an increasing heated discussion on why are all the Americans starting to identify with Chinese lifestyle?
Yeah, because I've seen a lot of hashtags or videos are just having that subtitle, saying I am Chinese today or I'm being Chinese tomorrow, that kind of thing.
And that actually draw people's attention.
And people are just actively watching, sharing and commenting on these things.
New Chinese members with the sense of amusement and also welcome.
Yeah.
So if you click, if you open up Weibo or you open up Western social media apps and see some of these posts, what are we seeing exactly?
You may start with seeing Chinese or Chinese-Americans, Chinese-Canadians or people like that they posting about how you can be more Chinese as a lifestyle.
And people like Sherry Shirei, I guess, and also Emma Peng.
They're taking the lead in posting things like that, telling people in a very humor and cute way that oh, you are being chosen.
Tomorrow, you are turning Chinese.
I know it sounds intimidating, but there's no point fighting it now.
You are chosen.
And yeah, people like them.
They're also actively posting about just how it It's the easiest ways to become Chinese, like drinking certain type of herbal tea and also telling people I'm here for you in this very Chinese time of your life.
And also I've seen very heartwarming other videos from these bunch of Chinese Americans saying I'm really proud of you that you're at your Chinese stage of your life.
And I support you.
These are the people who are responding to these.
Yeah, you're right.
Leading the charge, people like Sherry, who's a content creator.
I think she's from New Jersey.
She's young.
She's about 22 years old.
But the people responding are non-Chinese.
These are not Chinese people who are getting involved with this.
There's a comment.
Here's an example from someone named Elizabeth.
For my Chinese transformation, I started with Qigong.
Morning routine and drinking warm water.
And I'm already feeling better.
I'm very much open for more.
Another one says, I wear house slippers.
I get my lymph nodes moving every morning.
I jump 50 times loosely up and down.
And then third, I drink warm water and herbal tea multiple times a day.
I want to ask two questions here.
Qigong, that's kind of like tai chi.
Am i correct in that?
I think so.
Yes, in my understanding, qigong is something in between tai chi and kung fu.
Is it's like harnessing the chi in your body and moving the energy to remain balanced, interior balance, you know something like that.
You're just actually doing that kind of movement that you cannot even you know.
As a chinese, i cannot understand that.
The way that you can actually like feel your Qi in your body, that energy something, it's kind of abstract, but actually when you're doing that things you are controlling or actually mastering your mind.
That's what I heard from my colleagues who's been doing a lot of these like Chinese Tai Chi thing for many years.
He said It's really helping him to actually better balance his body.
So I would say yeah, of course, a lot of people are like embracing these kind of lifestyles, and Chinese people are very, very welcoming that kind of gestures.
And it is just a very, very big.
It feels like a party that having the mutual understanding and finally you can get me that kind of stuff.
Question number two jumping up and down 50 times every morning to get your lymph nodes moving.
Explain, please.
I have a question on that too.
I'm not sure how scientific you're not familiar.
Okay yeah, but there are a lot of of these interesting trend of exercising that actually comes from the elders here in china.
This sounds like a burpee jumps.
Yeah, they.
They hit their armpits for moving things or like massaging things under their armpits.
That's the lymph node area.
Yeah, that's like The word is coming.
The word is coming.
It's called blood circulation boosting, something like that.
Oh, when you're going to parks you will see some elderly is just leaning towards, like their back on the tree, and then just go against the tree with their back.
I have not seen that.
The mysterious eastern force awoken.
What's that?
That's about awakening the force in your body?
When you have back issues and you just go against it with a tree, it feels comfortable.
I don't think that's Chinese culture.
That's just people trying to scratch their back.
It's not scratching, though.
It's a massage forced on the tree.
Yeah.
One more comment.
This is I don't know who posted this one.
I've never been so regular since finding out I'm Chinese as a new Chinese member.
I have three pairs of house shoes.
I haven't had a cold drink in weeks and I'm taking my new Chinese life very seriously.
Whoever this is, i'm so proud of you.
Yeah, just just get rid of cold water.
Uh guys, comedians are getting in.
Uh, jimmy yang.
You know jimmy yang.
Yeah, he's so cool.
He's a chinese, american stand-up comedian.
I think yeah very, very funny.
Yeah, he's getting in on it.
Um, there's an australian musician by the name of kelly holiday.
He he was sharing his stories online about learning cultural rules of food and family and things like that.
And then, yeah, the foodies.
Yeah, so we talked about the tea and kind of the exercise, but the foodies are getting involved too.
Yeah,
Yeah, it's so simple for them.
They just sit down and record themselves eating Chinese food like dumplings, like genuine Chinese food, dumplings and noodles.
Genuine Chinese food.
Oh, you're talking about not that fake Chinese American food or American Chinese food.
Yeah, on October last year there was one TikToker that posted a video of himself eating dumpling under the phrase you met me at a very Chinese time of my life.
And that generated over 1.2 million views in one month.
And there's a lot of other similar cases, too.
So you see, it's not really just about good health.
It's also about sharing lifestyle.
And I'm learning to be or rather I'm learning following this new lifestyle habits.
And here's where I'm getting.
That's cool.
By the way, don't speak poorly of my favorite words american chinese food or chinese american food.
That stuff is delicious oh, people love it.
They're localized food though, for sure.
Uh, all right.
So let's get to the other side of this coin then.
So you said you know weibo is an example.
Uh, maybe red note too, i'm not sure, but what's the reaction from medicines here in china when they're seeing this type of?
Yeah, some of the users have understandably expressed uh, mixed feelings, now that cultural practices they were once made fun or made fun of for our being repackaged and sold as a viral trend.
Because one thing is that some of these lifestyles are just so common and normal in our daily lives.
It's been seamlessly integrated into our life.
Once I have one of my American teachers asking me, why do you always drink hot water?
Lovely, just i don't know how to answer.
We just drink that since our childhood.
So um, i was answering like it's because it feels comfortable, maybe because i don't have an exact scientific, you just do it.
Yeah yes, and now it's been like listed and it's been reflected again by a lot of uh, foreigners.
Then i think it is the good um result or reflection that a lot of chinese people are just Welcoming that kind of behavior.
That's the curious part, isn't it?
Because a lot of the times when a certain cultural connotation is used widely in another culture, people they say they hold very different opinions about it.
For example, the Zen idea from they say this from the Japanese culture um, it's in culture and a lot of people in the west they borrow it for house remodeling style and then there are people saying that no, that's a mindset that's not for your like visual style, you're misinterpreting it.
But that's not the case in this um whole chinese lifestyle thing.
This time the response from chinese netizens are actually very overwhelmingly positive, because it's mainly led by the Chinese Americans, like we talked about.
They are kind of expressing the welcomeness and also the appreciating tone in the first place and also It's in a way a recognition of something that we didn't realize ourselves.
That's really good, and it's spotted by somebody else and it's equally appreciated by somebody else and we're really happy about it.
And in the same time, some people say that it's because there's a real sense of validation happening here.
Like you said Yusheng, we might not know answers to when we're asked why we do certain things like hot water, like wearing slippers.
Again, it's about how we're seen and described from another, different people from a different culture, and in the meantime, they are having or sharing this belief as we do, and that's a very a sweet coincidence and also very heartwarming and interesting.
Yeah, the thing is that these kind of uh like wisdom that embedded in everyday chinese alive is being rediscovered by the world, and these kind of practices of health and awareness that we take for granted are, in fact, are actually like thoughtful ways of caring for the body, showing that The true charm of the culture lies in its ability to offer something in ordinary life that is actually worth taking seriously.
Yeah, because these are healthy lifestyle choices.
Well, these are things that are good for people.
So therefore, maybe it shouldn't be so surprising that these types of things are catching on.
All right.
So that's the response from the Chinese netizens, who are looking on with curiosity a little bit, but also widespread approval.
But why has this caught on with young Western people?
I'm curious to know.
I'm curious to know, too.
And that's when I approached um alex, an archaeologist from quebec canada, and also a very active listener of roundtable.
And here's what he says oh yeah, i've seen it before.
You met me in a very chinese stage of my life.
I mean, it's pretty funny.
I like that people are getting into the chinese culture.
In recent years there have been interest in Korean and Japanese culture.
And I think it's finally now time that people finally get into the Chinese culture.
And after the TikTok ban.
I think it just makes sense now that people are getting interest into the Chinese culture.
I mean even for me.
I was at that same stage a few years ago when I first got introduced to hot water, hot pot by my friends and I got really into it.
I got very good at playing mahjong with them and I just kept exploring, and now I'm at a stage where I'm moving to China.
I have a job there and I'm doing this big next step into my life.
I'm going further than just hot water and slippers.
And I enjoy the fact that people, they finally realize that China is not what they've been told to.
It's nothing like you see on social media.
It's much more.
And maybe this might open new doors, new possibilities to China.
And I'm really looking forward to it.
You're going a lot further, Alex, than hot water and slippers.
There's nothing more Chinese in your life than moving to China.
That's really cool.
I don't know.
What do you think when you hear a response like that?
Because for me it's kind of exciting because I was in Korea when Korea became cool and it was kind of a longtime transformation and K-pop put it on the map.
And Korean food helped to put it on the map and K-dramas and stuff.
And then Japan, he mentioned Japan as well.
But now, and I can feel it.
And I wonder if you can feel it too.
I can feel China.
It's China's turn.
China's becoming cool now, internationally speaking.
Can you also feel that?
Yeah, certainly.
We've actually seen multiple moments of spontaneous cultural change.
We call it breakthroughs or connections made going global over the past few years, like the TikTok refugee or the Red Note Xiaohongshu migration wave that Alex mentioned and also we kind of talked about earlier last year too.
When there's a TikTok ban and people from all over the world, North America especially, rushed on to Red Note as a new social media stage.
And that's when people actually get to see what China is really like via social media lenses, via what people say and do and comment as an everyday part of our life.
That's the first time for people to get to see who we are, what we do and how we interact.
And then we have the global Internet stars like I Show, Speed and other really famous content creators visiting China themselves and showcasing millions of their fans from around the globe of just you know how high tech China is becoming riding on the high speed train, etc.
Featuring high tech.
Higher end technology and stuff.
That's also a new narrative for people from outside of China to learn about us.
So you are right, Steve.
We are at that point where we're opening up more and welcoming people more with a visa and everything to allow more people to learn visa free policies.
Thank you.
So so that more people see us and get to know what China is really like.
And that's a good starting point.
And also I think that's the nature of the social media when something that is easily replicable and then, and when you find find out that the thing that you created is just very interesting and it is the genuine culture that you can actually experience, that people will just will be that kind of open-minded and then they're just willing to accept it.
And I remember that back then.
Also another trend that foreigners are starting to make easy made Chinese food like the, the tofu with some scallion on it.
Sugar calabash?
Yeah, that kind of thing.
And it's just really, really easy to make.
And then people like these people are just screaming, I can make Chinese food now.
And they're like, see, that's really delicious.
People are just happy about it.
And then yeah, that is just that kind of easy and like comforting, easygoing cultural exchange that people can just experience.
And here's the data to back that up to.
In 2025, China actually overtook the UK to rank second in the Global Soft Power Index.
So this surge of interest for China, for the Chinese style, is most intense among the 18 to 24-year-old demographic, where China's popularity is now basically neck and neck with the US.
It's not like we're trying to compete or anything.
We're just happy about the very fact that you know, people identify with us.
Sure.
Yeah, it's cool to see.
My experience is a little bit different from the hot water and the house slippers and things like that, because I'm here
And when you're an expat and you live in another country.
Now I'm living in China, it's kind of whatever you want it to be.
You can learn as much as you want or you can learn nothing at all, depending on what your own agenda is.
But for me, rather than the surface level cultural things, I'm really fascinated by the diversity that China is.
And I think a lot of and I've said this on Roundtable before I think a lot of Westerners particularly, who don't have any experience with China and have never had a chance to learn, they think of China as one thing.
They think of China as one people.
They think of Chinese as one language.
But what I've learned after being here is that, region by region, within the country, there are so many differences.
The circumstances that caused Beijing to become what it is today the Great Wall, for example are not the same circumstances that you'd find around the Yangtze River, which we talked about recently on the show.
It's a whole different region of the country.
It's a whole different group of things and circumstances in their lives that caused them to be the way that they are today and the economy to develop the way that it is today.
The dialects, the custom yeah, all of it, and it's.
It was very surprising to me and now i'm almost ashamed to say it, or embarrassed to say it that i was one of those people, because i didn't know too.
Oh china's just, you know china's, china.
And now I know, even only after being here for a year and a half now I know that is so entirely not true.
So while I am encouraged when I see young Western people saying oh, I'm in a very Chinese stage of my life now I drink warm water.
Okay, well, that's a good starting point.
It's a tip of an iceberg, I suppose.
But I would encourage those people to keep digging.
Like Alex said, Dig deeper, learn more and I promise you what you'll discover is very, very culturally cool.
That is 100% true.
All right, that'll do it for Roundtable 4 this afternoon.
Thank you very much for being a part of our program today.
Thank you to Yushan and Yuxin, and also thank you to Alex for participating in our program as well.
Please do enjoy your time and come back and see us again next time.
