How have Chinese people reacted to their new wealth in terms of the way they spend both their money and their time?
China’s newfound wealth has dramatically altered the lifestyles of those positively impacted, and many of China’s newly wealthy have jettisoned traditional culture in favor of voracious consumption, and their lifestyles demonstrate “the current sense of disintegration and apparent loss of all cultural anchors that many China watchers have observed during the postsocialiast era” (Veeck et al., 2011, p. 139). Some of the most popular items include electronics and furniture, though several other items are regularly consumed (Veeck et al., 2011, p. 143).
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The newly wealthy Chinese spend money relentlessly, and part of this relentless spending can be attributed to the fact that “it is clear that many things that were hard to come by, even taboo, in the old days are now common, as a walk around any of the new supermarkets in the glitzy neighborhoods of Shanghai and Shenzhen will demonstrate” (Veeck et al., 2011, p. 142). While frugality was revered in previous years, “the only requirement today for living the good life in China is having plenty of money” (Veeck et al., 2011, p. 144). Not only have the wealthy Chinese changed how they spend money; they have also changed how they spend their time.
Traditionally, the Chinese would prepare meals and consume them within their private homes, but today, many Chinese eat in restaurants more frequently: “The demand of the newly empowered Chinese consumer for a more varied lifestyle, one that includes eating in restaurants, is obviously an important dimension of this new trend” (Veeck et al., 2011, p. 146). In addition to restaurants, the Chinese also spend time watching television and using the internet; there has been “an increased in the consumption of media of all types in urban China and a sizeable increase in the amount of electronic interaction through regular and mobile telephones and the Internet” (Veeck et al., 2011, p. 146). Overall, China’s newfound wealth significantly altered how its impacted residents spend their money and their time, and this trend will likely continue in the future.
- Veeck, G., Pannell, C. W., Smith, C. J., & Huang, Y. China’s Geography: Globalization and the Dynamics of Political, Economic, and Social Change. (2nd ed.). Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2011.
