● Trillion-yuan night market: What makes Chengdu lead the nation?

● Cultural revitalization: What inspiration does Qingyang's night economy development bring to the nation?

● With changes in supply and demand, how can 'night markets' activate consumption potential?

● Where is the future of the night economy headed?

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Achieving people's aspirations for a better life is the fundamental goal of urban development.

When busy work compresses one-third of our time, and heavy academic pressures crowd out even the smallest spaces for leisure, people increasingly seek to reclaim their personal domains, leaving work and studies behind to immerse themselves in food, art, and hobbies.

The twilight hours of a city, when the lights first come on, offer a perfect escape.

Image source: Tianfu New Youth

On March 30, 2024, CCTV Finance released the first "China Night Economy Vitality Index Report." The report shows that in 2023, China's night tourism market reached 1.57 trillion yuan, with diversified, high-quality, and specialized formats such as culture, tourism, entertainment, education, and sports gradually becoming new growth drivers for the night economy. Nightlife is evolving from being a mere "leisure economy" beyond work and daily life to a critical fulcrum for economic transformation and development in modern cities, as urban cultural characteristics and economic vitality continue to radiate through the brightly lit streets and alleys.

Among these cities, one southwestern metropolis, with its unique leisurely culture and laid-back atmosphere, has surpassed Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Chongqing to top the list of the most vibrant night consumption cities in China.

That city is Chengdu.

Image source: Chengdu Municipal Government

01 'Night Chengdu' 1.0:

Chengdu Diners Drive the Economy

Life favors those who love to eat heartily.

The same applies to the market.

In 2014, Chengdu's urban Engel's coefficient was 40.1%, nearly 10 percentage points higher than the national average of 31.01%. Although the gap between Chengdu's urban Engel's coefficient and the national average has narrowed with economic development, there was still a 3-percentage-point difference last year.

Does this mean Chengdu's subsistence level is lower than the national average?

Certainly not.

As one of the leading "new first-tier" cities and a core city in China's "fourth pole," Chengdu has long surpassed the basic level of subsistence. The high Engel's coefficient is simply due to Chengdu's love for food.

Image source: Qingyang Communist Youth League

The earliest form of the night economy emerged from – dining.

Before the official release of relevant documents such as the "Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Accelerating the Development of Circulation and Promoting Commercial Consumption" and the "Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Further Stimulating the Consumption Potential of Culture and Tourism," the night economy was still in a state of "leisure entertainment," i.e., leisure activities after work or study, which often coincided with dinner time.

Therefore, using dinner as the core to drive surrounding entertainment consumption was the most primitive form of the night economy, often referred to as "nightlife" at the time.

Image source: Qingyang Communist Youth League

In short, the early night economy developed alongside the booming night dining market.

And when it comes to dining, Chengdu residents are never outdone.

According to the "2017 China Food and Beverage Consumption" report jointly released by Koubei and the First Financial Business Data Center, Chengdu ranks first in western China in terms of food and beverage consumption power. The "2023 Annual Report on China's Catering Industry" shows that Chengdu topped the list of provincial capital cities in catering revenue in 2022 with 144.46 billion yuan. In the first half of this year, Chengdu's catering revenue reached 101.41 billion yuan, higher than that of Beijing and Shanghai, accounting for about 20% of the city's total retail sales of consumer goods.

Image source: Kuanzhai Zhidao

Chengdu residents, who love, enjoy, and know how to eat, have an early lead in the night economy.

In 2018, Chengdu issued the "Action Plan for Accelerating the Construction of Chengdu as an International Consumption City," clearly proposing to tap into new drivers of night consumption, accelerate the cultivation of night economy clusters and demonstration zones, and enhance the environment for the night economy.

The following year, Chengdu ranked third with a score of 90.29 in the comprehensive scoring of China's sleepless cities, along with Macao and Chongqing in the first tier. At the same time, Chengdu's night economy accounted for up to 45% of daily consumption, ranking first among eight cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Harbin, Xi'an, Chengdu, and Changsha).

'Sleepless Chengdu' is taking shape.

Image source: Kuanzhai Alley, the Essence of Chengdu

02 'Night Chengdu' 2.0:

Chengdu Playgoers Can't Be Contained

Interesting souls can make the most of life wherever they are, such as Chengdu residents.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe, making "distant places" seem unattainable.

Travel became difficult, but these obstacles could not stop playful Chengdu residents. Unable to travel far, they found ways to enjoy themselves within the city.

Image source: Kuanzhai Alley, the Essence of Chengdu

There's no need to elaborate on dining. Even during the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, food-loving Chengdu residents managed to generate 112.4 billion yuan in catering revenue, on par with 2019, ranking fourth nationally in terms of catering industry scale.

When it comes to drinking, Chengdu, with its millennial-old Sichuan liquor culture, also has a lot to say. According to NCBD's "Distribution of Small Bars in Major Cities Across China in 2021," Chengdu led the nation with 2,524 small bars in 2021, far surpassing Beijing and Shanghai.

In terms of entertainment, Chengdu residents, with their leisure time culture deeply ingrained, are truly inventive. "Night Cruise on the Jinjiang River" takes visitors past landmarks like the Panda Tower, Taikoo Li, and Jiuyan Bridge, while immersive experiences in Chengdu's nightlife have become one of the city's most iconic calling cards. Large-scale online celebrity IP performances like "Chengdu Steals Your Heart" showcase the city's artistic and romantic sides to the nation.

In 2020, Chengdu ranked third among China's top 20 cities for the night economy, while Chunxi Road was selected as one of the "Top Ten Nighttime Business Districts Favored by Tourists in 2020."

Playful Chengdu residents successfully turned the pandemic's restrictions into an urban revelry.

Image source: Kuanzhai Alley, the Essence of Chengdu

As documents such as the "Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035" and the "14th Five-Year Plan for Cultural Development" have successively prioritized new consumption and the night economy, the nighttime market has gradually emerged as a new growth point for stimulating domestic consumption demand. Chengdu, which got an early start, undoubtedly welcomes the best opportunities.

The era of 'Night Chengdu 3.0' is imminent.

03 'Night Chengdu' 3.0:

Chengdu Enjoyers' Creative Minds

Ovid once wrote:

In play, we reveal who we truly are.

Chengdu residents showcase their boundless creativity to the nation through their colorful nightlife.

Image source: Sichuan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism

In 2023, as epidemic prevention and control entered a new stage, China's cultural tourism market gradually recovered.

However, issues such as insufficient domestic demand and weak consumption that accompany the "post-pandemic" era are becoming more apparent.

According to the "China Consumer Consumption Trend Report (2023)" released by the Xingtu Financial Research Institute, before the pandemic, the growth rate of residents' consumption was significantly higher than that of GDP, but after the pandemic, the growth rate of residents' final consumption expenditure converged rapidly with that of GDP.

Source: Xingtu Financial Research Institute's "China Consumer Consumption Trend Report (2023)"

The trend of conspicuous consumption is gradually fading, replaced by a more practical and self-indulgent "light consumption" model, i.e., how to derive the most pleasure from the least amount of money.

Changes in the national supply-demand structure are accelerating the formation of a new domestic cultural tourism consumption cycle – medium-to-long-distance domestic and overseas travel before the pandemic is gradually being replaced by nearby and short-distance travel. Experiencing diverse cultural and entertainment scenes without leaving the city or province has become the preferred choice. This forces local governments to innovate and reform existing cultural tourism product structures by combining local culture and customer needs to bridge the gap between declining consumer demand and upgrading consumption quality.

And this breakthrough lies in the night economy.

According to the "2023 China Night Economy Development Report" by the China Tourism Academy, from January to August 2023, tourists made an average of 3.27 night outings per month, with a willingness to go out at night as high as 95%!

"2023 China Night Economy Development Report" by China Tourism Academy

For urban consumption, the night economy is both an extension of the daytime consumer market and an independent scene that can differentiate itself from daytime consumption. From a supply-demand perspective, the night economy is a new trend that aligns with the declining national consumer demand and the trend of improving consumption quality, bringing more conversions and higher stickiness to urban local and nearby tourist groups and serving as a new growth point for urban cultural tourism development in the "post-pandemic" era.

Chengdu, which has taken the lead in the night market, is poised to capitalize on this opportunity.

Image source: Kuanzhai Alley, the Essence of Chengdu

Taking Qingyang District, which houses about 70% of the city's historical and cultural landmarks, as an example. In recent years, Qingyang District has leveraged its local culture, grasped technological innovation, integrated diverse cultural, commercial, and tourism formats, and showcased the city's unique identity through night markets for both local residents and foreign tourists.

According to "Big Data on Qingyang District's Night Economy" released by Meituan in June this year, from April last year to March this year, 20.8% of Qingyang District's night consumption was concentrated between 7 pm and 8 pm, i.e., dinner time, which aligns with the largest proportion of night food consumption in the survey report. Among them, the Zhongba/Qingyang Wanda business district, Kuanzhai Alley business district, and Funan New Area business district account for half of Qingyang District's night consumption.

Image source: Kuanzhai Alley, the Essence of Chengdu

In terms of consumer demographics, users aged 25-35 account for over 75%, while the proportion of non-local users has increased from 37.5% in Q1 2023 to 51.9% in Q1 2024. During the Golden Week holiday this year, Kuanzhai Alley in Qingyang District welcomed a cumulative total of 734,000 visitors, ranking first among Chengdu's A-grade tourist attractions. During the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, Kuanzhai Alley also welcomed over 40,000 visitors on the first day, ranking among the top in the city. This indicates that Qingyang District is favored by foreign tourists and its appeal to younger generations is steadily increasing.

Image source: Kuanzhai Alley, the Essence of Chengdu

Rich cultural heritage, diverse nightlife options, and unique urban landscapes make Qingyang District a representative of local night culture. In 2022, Kuanzhai Alley in Qingyang District was selected as the "Second Batch of National Nighttime Cultural Tourism Consumption Clusters." In the first two quarters of this year, Kuanzhai Alley and Qintai Road were consecutively selected as "Chengdu's Most Lively Street" and "Chengdu's Most Lively Night Street," demonstrating the continuous vitality of Qingyang's night economy.

Source: Kuanzhai Alley, the Most Chengdu

In August this year, Qingyang Cultural Tourism launched the 'Enjoy Chengdu, Qingyang's New Nightlife' Midsummer Lifestyle Festival in Kuanzhai Alley. Through the integration of Sichuan's intangible cultural heritage, Tianfu book culture, and urban photography, traditional and trendy elements were fused to create eight major series of activities in Kuanzhai Alley, including 'Night Exhibition', 'Night Reading', 'Night Cinema', 'Night Tour', 'Night Performance', 'Night Dining', 'Night Drinking', and 'Night Shopping'.

Source: Kuanzhai Alley, the Most Chengdu

It is not difficult to observe that in addition to the five traditional consumption formats of 'eating, drinking, playing, entertaining, and shopping,' the Midsummer Lifestyle Festival in Kuanzhai Alley innovatively incorporates cultural scenes such as art exhibitions, bar performances, and reading clubs. By leveraging the connection between culture and consumption, a night economy complex with the most urban characteristics is created during the peak summer travel season, stimulating the consumption potential of midsummer. Furthermore, through the 'scenery of Kuanzhai Alley,' it conveys Chengdu's local customs and cultural characteristics to the entire province and even the country, serving as an example for other regions to showcase regional cultural confidence and promote the integrated development of culture, urban areas, the economy, society, and technological innovation.

Source: Kuanzhai Alley, the Most Chengdu

However, with the continuous influx of millennials, the supply and demand structure of cultural tourism consumption is undergoing rapid changes. How to respond to new consumer demands and adapt to changing market trends poses a challenge for Chengdu and even the entire country.

But undoubtedly, Chengdu, which seized the market opportunity early on, has already secured a strong position in this national competition. Whether it can continue to excel and maintain its winning streak in the 'second half' remains to be seen.

Note:

①The count of pubs includes pure pubs, cafes that also serve alcohol at night, and other types of pubs.

Reference Materials:

CCTV Finance releases the first 'China Night Economy Vitality Index Report'

https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1794997711708515827&wfr=spider&for=pc

Night Economy Thrives, and New Consumption Booms! The 2024 Shanghai Nightlife Festival Energizes the City's Nights

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Chengdu Tops the List of Cities with the Most Active Nighttime Consumption!

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/uyWShk3ZXmB6nepUhFzKXQ

Chengdu's Catering Consumption Index Remains First Among Western Cities

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Chengdu's catering consumption growth ranked fifth nationally in 2018, and its midnight snack consumption ranked eighth

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The 2023 China Catering Industry Annual Report released, with Guangdong Province ranking first nationally in catering revenue in 2022

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Analysis of Chengdu's Economic Performance in the First Half of 2024: GDP grew by 4.8% year-on-year

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The Chengdu Nighttime Economy Development Report is released, ranking Chengdu third among China's sleepless cities in 2019

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Half-Monthly Talk | Mental health issues among Chinese people are prominent, and there is a demand for 'mental healing' services on both sides

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The 'Post-Pandemic Chinese Travel Intention Survey Report' is released: 45% of respondents will choose independent travel

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Despite the adverse effects of the pandemic in 2020, Chengdu still achieved catering revenue of 112.4 billion yuan, ranking fourth nationally in terms of catering industry scale

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Exploring Qingyang's most vibrant nightlife in the city's most urban night!

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Intangible Cultural Heritage Night Exhibition, Midsummer Night Reading! Kuanzhai Alley's 'Enjoy Chengdu, Qingyang's New Nightlife' Midsummer Lifestyle Festival is just waiting for you!

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The Fireworks Index for Chengdu's Characteristic Commercial Streets in the Second Quarter is released! Qingyang has five entries on the list

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Kuanzhai Alley is selected as the second batch of national-level nighttime cultural tourism consumption clusters

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On the first day of the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, Chengdu's A-level scenic spots received 986,000 visitors

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(Some images in this article are from government websites. Please contact the original authors and editors for compensation.)