A concise yet holistic summary of January 2025’s key marketing developments in China, highlighting valuable insights and their implications for brands.

After spreading over social media, China’s youth have demonstrated their need for community and adventure en masse causing a stir on their 50km group ride

During this year’s National Day holiday, China saw 765 million domestic trips and ¥700.8 billion ($99b) in spending. As travellers seek deeper cultural connections, “Neo-Chinese night tours” emerged as popular experiences, presenting new growth opportunities for the tourism industry.

A sample of the wacky extremes Chinese youth are going to to save money on budget airlines

China’s consumer data points to some interesting developments that will impact tourism behaviour internationally

China's wine industry and its drinkers has changed dramatically since 2020, with brands needing to stay abreast of trends to continue to be relevant

$2 Tianshui hot pot is taking China by store, and driving tourism in the Gansu city

Harbin tourism is booming, with some lessons for tourism operators around the world

There are 430 million automobiles in China, almost all belonging to affluent consumers that can be reached through smart marketing strategies

It wasn't long ago when every marketer in China was talking about ecommerce. Alibaba and JD battled it out for supremacy, and then another challenger, Pinduoduo, came from nowhere, and it became a three-horse race.Whilst the traditional ecommerce platforms still dominate online sales in China, the new world of livestreaming, KOLs and social commerce has dominated marketing forums over the past few years.

Can you name one event in your lifetime that has shaken the world more than Covid? The world has forever-changed since early-2020. Whereas many of Covid's consequences have been negative, there have been some silver linings which will hopefully stay with us long after the face masks and vaccine passes have gone.

Andy Lau is one of Greater China's most celebrated and distinguished actors, singer-songwriters and film producers. The 60-year old Hong Konger has acted in more than 160 films, while maintaining a successful singing career. Hundreds of awards have borne his name - more than any other male Cantopop star.

Nothing beats a good lockdown to dull the spirits of Chinese consumers. As Shanghai's severe lockdown has passed 50 days for some residents, and has recently been re-tightened, a large number continue to struggle to order the staples, let alone purchase discretionary goods and services.

If you're living in a developed country, there's a chance you may have seen a few robots since the pandemic began. In the US, labour shortages, coupled with robots being covid-free has driven the recent adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered robots for everything from coffee delivery to making fresh, hot pizzas and customised hamburgers in minutes from deep inside a vending machine.

Health has long been one of the most important trends in China. Horrific smog in 2013 drove China-based researchers to conclude that Beijing's pollution made the city almost "uninhabitable for human beings." The soupy air was an unmistakable reminder of the importance of staying healthy. This, coupled with numerous food scandals, more sedentary lifestyles and the lasting Chinese tradition of being proactive about health, brought health further to the fore. That year, health was the number one concern for wealthy Chinese, mirroring findings across many consumer groups in China.

Visitors to a stunning old vineyard in China represent the increasing sophistication in tourism and general consumer purchases in the market

China has almost achieved another lofty goal: becoming a high income economy against all odds. This represents further opportunities for brands

Chinese beauty brands are spending more than 2/3s of revenue on marketing, whereas foreign brands are under half that, and holding strong