Why read this: This article gives students a concrete way into a current debate about China's economy and youth culture. On the surface, it describes a concert boom: huge festivals, stadium tours, and fans who travel across the country. Underneath, it asks why young people are willing to spend so freely on live shows when shoppers in other sectors are holding back. The concept of 'emotional consumption' gives readers a ready-made label for a behaviour they may recognise in their own lives or families, and it invites them to weigh economic data against personal motivation.
What to notice: Ask students to track the contrast between paragraphs. The first two paragraphs present strong growth figures, while the third paragraph suddenly pivots to a weak consumer-confidence index. The word 'though' and the phrase 'what makes this trend striking' are the main signals that the writer is building an argument. Notice also how the article mixes large economic numbers with a single personal story, Ms Wang's. Encourage students to spot the shift from reportage to gentle evaluation in the final paragraph, where the author suggests that the authorities may tolerate the trend for economic reasons.
Skills practised: Students practise tracking cause and contrast across paragraphs, a key B2 reading move. They interpret statistics in context rather than in isolation, and they infer authorial stance from hedged modal verbs such as 'may', 'appears' and 'seems'. The glossed terms (box-office intake, consumer-confidence index, zero-covid, performing arts, emotional consumption) introduce useful economic and cultural vocabulary. The open questions push students to evaluate an argument and to link subsidy policy with wider economic returns, which supports the academic writing they will meet at IB and A-level.
Why China's young fans keep filling concert halls
Live music is booming even as shoppers hold back
Tap any green word in the article to see its meaning.
For most of the year, the small city of Zhuji in Zhejiang province is known mainly as the birthplace of Xi Shi, a famous beauty who lived about 2,500 years ago. Since 2023, however, the city has found a new reason to attract visitors. Every New Year, tens of thousands of young fans travel there for the Xi Shi Music Festival, a two-day event that has almost nothing to do with the ancient legend. This year, more than 133,000 people stayed overnight, a rise of 29% compared with last year.
China is in the middle of a concert boom. According to the China Association of Performing Arts, an industry group, from live shows reached 62bn yuan ($9bn) last year, up from just 20bn in 2019. The number of events jumped from 197,000 to around 640,000. The shows have also become more ambitious. One 28-year-old fan, surnamed Sun, went to three concerts by Mayday, a hugely popular Taiwanese rock band. At one show in Beijing, she watched the band appear as giant 3D images, then perform on a moving stage built onto a bus that circled the Bird's Nest stadium.
What makes this trend striking is that most Chinese shoppers are otherwise reluctant to open their wallets. Like many other sectors, entertainment was badly damaged during the pandemic, and China's , a measure of how willing people feel about spending, fell sharply after the strict lockdowns. That index has barely recovered since 2022. Concerts, though, have come back stronger than ever.
Local governments are paying close attention, because visiting fans spend freely on hotels, meals and transport. Some cities now offer cash rewards to attract big-name artists. On 2 February, the island province of Hainan gave the Hong Kong singer Eason Chan 1m yuan after his concert in Haikou sold 68m yuan worth of tickets. The wider benefit was even larger: fans travelling to the show spent roughly 3.2bn yuan in total. The performing arts association estimates that every yuan spent on a ticket can lead to nearly seven more yuan of extra spending elsewhere.
Some fans commit remarkable amounts of time and money. Ms Wang, who is 35, followed Mayday around the country with her husband last year. The couple spent about 20,000 yuan on tickets and roughly the same again on flights and accommodation. Before each show, she prepared handmade banners and met up with other fans. She admits that going to concerts is what she looks forward to most, and she even remembers crying during her first Mayday concert after the pandemic. “It has already been almost two months without a concert,” she says. “It feels like nothing has happened, like I simply skipped over those weeks.”
Chinese writers have begun to describe this pattern as : spending money on experiences that comfort the mind, rather than on objects that fill a home. The trend is growing despite, or perhaps because of, the country's uncertain economic outlook. Critics may dismiss it as a habit of gloomy young adults, yet the authorities appear willing to tolerate it. As long as concerts persuade Gen-Z to keep spending, the Communist Party seems content to let the music play on.
For most of the year, the small city of Zhuji in Zhejiang province is known mainly as the birthplace of Xi Shi, a famous beauty who lived about 2,500 years ago. Since 2023, however, the city has found a new reason to attract visitors. Every New Year, tens of thousands of young fans travel there for the Xi Shi Music Festival, a two-day event that has almost nothing to do with the ancient legend. This year, more than 133,000 people stayed overnight, a rise of 29% compared with last year.
China is in the middle of a concert boom. According to the China Association of Performing Arts, an industry group, from live shows reached 62bn yuan ($9bn) last year, up from just 20bn in 2019. The number of events jumped from 197,000 to around 640,000. The shows have also become more ambitious. One 28-year-old fan, surnamed Sun, went to three concerts by Mayday, a hugely popular Taiwanese rock band. At one show in Beijing, she watched the band appear as giant 3D images, then perform on a moving stage built onto a bus that circled the Bird's Nest stadium.
What makes this trend striking is that most Chinese shoppers are otherwise reluctant to open their wallets. Like many other sectors, entertainment was badly damaged during the pandemic, and China's , a measure of how willing people feel about spending, fell sharply after the strict lockdowns. That index has barely recovered since 2022. Concerts, though, have come back stronger than ever.
Local governments are paying close attention, because visiting fans spend freely on hotels, meals and transport. Some cities now offer cash rewards to attract big-name artists. On 2 February, the island province of Hainan gave the Hong Kong singer Eason Chan 1m yuan after his concert in Haikou sold 68m yuan worth of tickets. The wider benefit was even larger: fans travelling to the show spent roughly 3.2bn yuan in total. The performing arts association estimates that every yuan spent on a ticket can lead to nearly seven more yuan of extra spending elsewhere.
Some fans commit remarkable amounts of time and money. Ms Wang, who is 35, followed Mayday around the country with her husband last year. The couple spent about 20,000 yuan on tickets and roughly the same again on flights and accommodation. Before each show, she prepared handmade banners and met up with other fans. She admits that going to concerts is what she looks forward to most, and she even remembers crying during her first Mayday concert after the pandemic. “It has already been almost two months without a concert,” she says. “It feels like nothing has happened, like I simply skipped over those weeks.”
Chinese writers have begun to describe this pattern as : spending money on experiences that comfort the mind, rather than on objects that fill a home. The trend is growing despite, or perhaps because of, the country's uncertain economic outlook. Critics may dismiss it as a habit of gloomy young adults, yet the authorities appear willing to tolerate it. As long as concerts persuade Gen-Z to keep spending, the Communist Party seems content to let the music play on.
Questions
Check your understanding
- 01
According to the article, how much did box-office intake from live shows reach last year?
- 02
Why is the concert boom described as 'striking'?
- 03
What is the main idea of the article?
- 04
Explain why local governments in China are keen to attract big concerts to their cities.
Suggested length: ~80 words
- 05
Evaluate how convincingly the article presents 'emotional consumption' as a response to China's current economy.
Suggested length: ~80 words
Questions
Check your understanding
- 01
According to the article, how much did box-office intake from live shows reach last year?
- 02
Why is the concert boom described as 'striking'?
- 03
What is the main idea of the article?
- 04
Explain why local governments in China are keen to attract big concerts to their cities.
Suggested length: ~80 words
- 05
Evaluate how convincingly the article presents 'emotional consumption' as a response to China's current economy.
Suggested length: ~80 words