JINAN, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Spring Festival means reunion for the Chinese people. Back in my hometown in Chiping, east China's Shandong Province, I found myself on a journey of rediscovery.
From the local lifestyle to consumption habits, I realized that great changes had taken place in my birthplace, which was previously a county home to approximately 570,000 residents. It was turned into a city district in 2019.
Wandering through its aspen-lined main street, I marveled at the emergence of many chain stores that were previously seen as symbols of urbanity, such as Luckin Coffee, a domestic coffee brand that has developed into a strong rival of Starbucks in China. In addition, I spotted many famous milk tea franchise shops, including Chagee, which is headquartered in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, and Shanghai-based brand Auntea Jenny.
At a Luckin Coffee store located close to a shopping mall, I saw young people kill time by enjoying cups of coffee -- a very common scene in China's big cities.
Out of curiosity, I asked one of the sales clerks how the business was going. "Spring Festival holiday is a peak season, but actually more orders are placed through online take-out platforms," he revealed.
My hometown is not an isolated example of such change. Anji, a county with a population of less than 600,000 in east China's Zhejiang Province, now has more than 300 cafes. The density of coffee shops in this county is said to have exceeded that of east China metropolis Shanghai.
A closer look at relevant data speaks volumes about the powerful magnet the county-level market has become. By the end of 2022, nearly a third of China's urban population lived in counties and county-level cities, implying a promising consumption market.
Representing great potential, county-level markets have emerged as the "blue ocean" for coffee consumption in China in recent years. For example, Starbucks opened 790 new stores and entered 166 new county-level markets on the Chinese mainland in the fiscal year of 2024 -- meaning that it covered about one-third of all county-level markets in China.
On Wednesday, the first day of the Chinese New Year, I went to a cinema in Chiping to watch the highly-anticipated film "Creation of the Gods II: Demon Forces," the second installment of a Chinese epic mythological trilogy. To my astonishment, the cinema hall was packed with so many moviegoers that it took me a few minutes to squeeze through the door and enter.
"It appears that celebrating Spring Festival by watching a movie is not confined to big cities, either," I reflected.
Despite the large crowd, I enjoyed a pleasant movie-going afternoon, with a cup of coffee in my hand and seated in a fancy chair that can offer a massage service. It was hard to believe that this was the same place I was delighted to leave behind when I was admitted to a university in Beijing in 2012. Back then I tended to view my hometown as an underdeveloped rural backwater. But does this assessment still make sense in 2025?
Based on what I saw and felt recently, my answer to this question would have to be a resounding "no." My hometown, notably, is just one of China's array of modern counties. Inspired by this new view of my hometown, I opted to delve deeper into the characteristics of China's county economies.
County economies are a type of regional economy based in county-level administrative regions. Their presence in China's economic landscape have been reinforced in recent years.
Official statistics showed that there were more than 1,800 counties and county-level cities on the Chinese mainland as of April 2023 -- covering a population of over 700 million and representing an accumulated GDP amounting to 38.1 percent of the country's total.
Featuring distinct local conditions and respective advantages, county economies are believed to play an important role in supporting rural revitalization and urban-rural integrated development. In 2023, 59 county-level regions saw local GDP surpass 100 billion yuan (nearly 14 billion U.S. dollars) each.
As their wallets get fuller and demands for a better quality of life mount, people in county-level regions are exhibiting stronger purchasing power and more diverse consumption preferences. The mushrooming of e-commerce, meanwhile, has also helped to narrow the gap between them and big-city dwellers.
In particular, young people living in such county areas are forming a new cohort of leading consumers. According to online shopping platform, Pinduoduo, they were the major buyers of high-end home appliances, leading makeup products, imported fruits as well as entry luxes and other accessible luxuries during the 2024 "Double 11" shopping festival.
One of my high school friends, who still lives in Chiping, is an avid video game player. He told me that he usually spends about an average of 600 yuan monthly on playing such games.
To upgrade his gaming devices, he splashed 9,000 yuan on a professional gaming computer in his first year of work, and not long after that he bought a Nintendo Switch which cost about 3,000 yuan. "I've also renewed my game pad and bought a special keyboard," he revealed.
Working at a public institution for a monthly salary of around 5,000 yuan, he said he would not hesitate to open his wallet in support of his hobby.
Some attribute the rise in China's county-level consumption to factors including improved education, the rise of internet and e-commerce, and the continuous increase of people's incomes.
"The living cost here is relatively low and controllable, and our lives have improved a lot in recent years, giving rise to more diverse consumption needs," my old school mate said.
Consultancy firm McKinsey predicts that by 2030, county economies would produce more than 66 percent of China's personal consumption growth.
Shortly before the 2025 Spring Festival, at the provincial-level "two sessions" meetings that outlined local development priorities for the year, many provinces put boosting county economies high on their agendas.
Hearing my reflections on my hometown, my father invited me to take a walk with him to a public stadium. He said this public service facility had enriched the nighttime options of residents living nearby.
In an open square, I saw dozens of women enjoying square dances accompanied by jubilant music, with broad smiles on their faces. In addition to the square, there is a badminton facility available at this venue. A note on the door revealed that the facility is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and can be used free of charge.
"If you want to see first-hand just how Chinese people's lives had changed, why not come back home?" My father suggested.
"I will, more frequently in the future," was my reply. ■
