At the dawn of the decade China was very much a cash-based society. Most transactions were untraceable exchanges of notes and coins and it wasn’t unusual for consumers to have stacks of red bills stashed away under their mattresses.

f anyone harboured any doubts about the mouth-watering growth expected of China’s pet market a stroll through Shanghai’s New International Expo Centre last week would’ve quelled those concerns. Pet Fair Asia 2017 came to a close on Sunday bringing roughly 250,000 visitors over the four days, the hordes of accompanying animals not included. The magnitude of the event reflected the industry’s rapid growth. 2017 saw an upgrade in venue to cater to the surge in exhibitors, visitors and events, and notably powerful air-conditioning following the death and heatstroke of several dogs at the 2016 edition.

Chinese Valentine’s Day Qixi fell on Monday with the usual barrage of schmaltzy ads and online deals. Yet not everyone was out spending a month’s wages on heart-themed handbags or posting romantic dinner snaps on WeChat.

Alibaba and Tencent have done it again. They’ve delivered record-breaking profits that blew past analysts’ forecasts, signalling just how healthy China’s consumer market remains, particularly for the digital sphere. Alibaba’s profit almost doubled to ¥14 billion ($2.1 billion) and Tencent’s grew 70% to a handsome ¥18.2 billion ($2.7 billion). The results have seen their respective stock values soar into the $400 billion-plus-club, which was formerly the sole domain of American tech giants Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Amazon.

Next time you indulge in a good hearty serving of ravioli or fettuccine, spare a thought for the Chinese. Tracing the origins of Italian pastas will likely find you in China in the 13th century, following the routes of Marco Polo who brought back tales of dumplings and noodles from his epic adventures in the Far East.

Over the next five years, Chinese travellers are expected to take an estimated 700 million trips. Heralding this significant growth opportunity for the travel sector, Marriott and Alibaba publicized the details of their new cross platform venture at a joint press conference at the new W Hotel on the Bund in Shanghai last Tuesday.

A quick Google image search for ‘dogs in China’ will return row after row of horrifying snaps that you wouldn’t show your kids. Yet the reality is quite different in most of China’s cities.

If we asked Skinny readers to name some differences between a consumer in Beijing and Shanghai we’d be likely to get many responses. There are the obvious observations such as different food preferences, disparate climates, pollution readings and daily commutes. Beijingers pack a few more pounds around the waist and are a little taller. On a deeper level, emotional cues in communications that resonate in Beijing are often markedly different to Shanghai. What they do for fun, the TV shows they talk about, even their ideal weekend or trip abroad are often dissimilar.

Chinese love property. 90% of families in the country own their home, giving China one of the highest home ownership rates in the world. The majority of Chinese investors’ portfolios are dominated by property.

A little over five years ago a fledgling Shanghai-based marketing agency was unable to find relevant and reliable marketing information about China. Hopeful of filling that gap, that agency started the Weekly Skinny. Our goal was to aid busy marketers with concise, transparent and timely insights to assist them in making decisions, as well as demonstrate China Skinny’s understanding and expertise in the China market.

When a Chinese consumer makes a decision – from picking a bottle of water, to choosing which country will best educate their child – the influence of KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) can be dramatic. A feature of Chinese thought since the days of Chairman Mao, the KOL economy is set to boom; 2016’s value of ¥53 billion ($7.8 billion) is estimated to near double to ¥102 billion ($15.1 billion) next year. To bring some perspective, that is three times the forecasted value of China’s newspaper and magazine advertising in 2018.

“The arc of history is long and it bends towards justice” – yet sometimes it needs a little push to get there. Invoking the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr., World Bank Group president Jim Yong Kim framed the outlook from Monday’s She Era 2017 Conference hosted by Alibaba in Hangzhou.

The glimmering prize of the China market has led many foreign brands to make sacrifices in their pursuit of Chinese wallets. The $50-billion-plus beauty industry is particularly symptomatic – a field dominated by international brands. Chinese females, and increasingly males, are avid cosmetics consumers spending a much larger portion of their incomes on it than their Korean, Japanese and US equivalents – some shelling out as much as 30% of their take-home pay.

If you ask a Chinese consumer for their thoughts on imported food, you’ll get countries described with a dreamlike reverence. Australia and New Zealand conjure images of endless green fields and roaming livestock taking in the crystal-clear air and water. The clean paddocks assisted by efficient systems and leading technology denote European farms, with North America associated with strong regulations that make for well-policed and protected farmland. These perceptions have contributed to imported food growing 17% last year to $39.4 billion.

Last week Alibaba hosted their first conference outside of China – Gateway 17 in Detroit. China Skinny was there.

Excitement was the prevailing feeling at Alibaba’s Gateway 17 conference. The big numbers, learning about the opportunities in China, hearing the success stories and talking to the attendees all contributed to a feeling of exuberance in Detroit last week. Yet after going back to the day-to-day reality of running a business, many are asking: now what? While entering China is exciting, it’s also hard work with many serious considerations and choices to take into account. To assist, China Skinny has three next steps to start to see if China is right for your brand.

Alibaba’s first U.S. conference, Gateway ’17, came to a close last week. Three thousand attendees were present at the conference signalling that U.S. small and medium sized businesses are interested in selling to Chinese consumers. The curiosity is mutual from Chinese consumers looking to buy their wares.

If you’re looking for trends in the Chinese consumer market, the tourism industry should be your first stop. Whether it’s trading-up in food & beverage or the health & fitness craze seizing the domestic market, China Skinny sees China’s affluent international travellers particularly influential in shaping these trends back home.