Following the yuan

🎬 Dear Youopens in North American theaters on September 4, in Teochew with English and Chinese subtitles. If the episode below makes you curious, this is the week to see it on a big screen. A 14-million-yuan film shot in a dialect most Chinese people can’t understand, starring people who had never acted before, has made 150 times its budget. Dear You (《给阿嬷的情书》) opened in mainland China in late April with neither big celebrities nor an established IP franchise.

Welcome back! “China color”is a column that records Chinese people’s unfiltered voices, as well as field trips by our contributors. Here are some of our previous pieces as examples: how do Chinese graduates feel about the job market, a trip to Mixue’s hometown, both of which you can read for free without subscribing. In less than three weeks, an anxiety-ridden new regulation those whom go through China’s borders will take effect.

Brands and companies mentioned in this issue: Tencent, ByteDance, Cartier, Canada Goose, Abercrombie & Fitch, Chef Fei, Yum China, Pizza Hut, Luckin, Heytea, JD.com, Unitree Robotics, Meituan, HSG, Alo Yoga, Mammut, CPE ūüďä BIG STAT China AI‚Äôs to-consumer business dilemma //In recent months, one question has been hanging over China's booming AI space: who actually pays for AI?

Editor’s notes: Following our issue in April about regional archetypes (e.g. Only Daughter in Jiangsu, Zhejiang & Shanghai, Northeast Homie, etc.), we're back, this time focusing on China's socioeconomic stereotypes including: 小镇做题家 Small-Town Exam Whiz 凤凰男 Phoenix Man 富二代/厂二代/官二代 Rich/Factory/Official Second-Gen 打工人/牛马 Laborer / Corporate Cattle 当代孔乙己 Modern-Day Kong Yiji 碳水脸/蛋白脸 Carb Face / Protein Face For each term, we explain the definition, the origin, and provide links to reading more...

Hi, it’s Yaling. Thank you so much for tuning in to part one of the field guide. Today we continue with more AI consumer products. I have to say, I have been slightly out of the loop in emerging tech since leaving my full-time role as a tech reporter at SCMP a few years ago. But you’ll definitely see more coverage about the intersection of AI and consumer over here as AI starts feeling more tangible in the Chinese consumer psyche and in everyday consumer culture.

Hi it’s Yaling, I really didn’t think I would be the perfect ambassador for the Chinese voice-to-text app, Typeless, until this week. As some of you might have seen on Substack Notes — my left collarbone is broken and my left hand is in a sling, which limits my ability to do any chores or type on a laptop. Thankfully, Typeless is helping me transcribe and format the messages I want to say and the emails I want to write back.

Hi, it’s Yaling. Whether you’ve been here since day one or just subscribed last week, I’d love to hear from you in this reader survey. It will take around 7 minutes to complete thoughtfully, and it will shape what Following the Yuan publishes, and how, to a great extent. As a thank-you, I'll be giving one respondent a year-long membership.

Two weeks ago, I joined a WeChat group for odd jobs after seeing social media posts about people getting paid to attend Rolex’s Shanghai exhibition. All posts in this group called “Shanghai Happy Planet Part-Time 2” are for either ‘blowing up venues’ as paid attendees or part-time retail jobs.

Written by: Tucker Jiang Edited by: Kevin Schoenmakers & Yaling Jiang Production: Rongrong Zhuge For decades, selling cigarettes was one of the surest ways to make money in China. As long as shop owners continued to buy whatever the country’s sole cigarette maker, China Tobacco (HKG: 6055), assigned to them, their license would be upgraded. The higher the tier, the more cigarettes they would be assigned — including premium brands, the most lucrative cigarettes.

Brands mentioned in this issue: Lululemon, Häagen-Dazs, Ningji, Doubao, ByteDance, OPPO, SeeSaw, FILA, Centaline, Sinopec 📊 BIG STAT China’s “him economy” gains real traction this 618 // Men’s products emerged as a standout growth category in this year’s 618 shopping festival — in Austin Li’s livestream, male shoppers’ average order value and repurchase rates both rose year-on-year, with Gen Z men becoming the main contributor.