I was in the perfect position to observe our target market firsthand. Feeling refreshed to not to be in a crowd of expats, I was mind blown by how much the local scene has developed, mesmerized by the crowd’s energy, dance moves, chic attire, and especially their confidence. In the beginning, I was just interested because the Nengmao store-owner our street team interviewed last week was half-hosting the show and I really wanted to check out his 80′s China retro chic shirts designs.

As I arrived at about half past ten, a Taiwanese band named Go Chic was playing. On vocal was a sassy lady with short blonde hair jumping across the stage trying to hype up the crowd, but I was not too impressed.

Mao was the most packed I’ve ever seen it. Looking around, I wondered where all these trendy types are hiding during day time. It was the most hip/indie Chinese kiddies I have seen gather in one place, (guess I’ve been going to the wrong places…) Many of them were sporting Nengmao clothing, especially a lightning shirt that came free with the first 200 purchased tickets, good marketing strategy…

After a bit of wandering and chatting with strangers I seem to repeatedly encounter on the weekends, it was time to go back in and watch the main act- New Pants from Beijing. At first, it seemed a lot quieter than Go Chic, seducing the audience with a sweet little lullaby called “Being together.”

Then, out of nowhere, the keyboarder took off his bug-eye glasses, put on a Mao cap, and took over the center of stage, channeling a whole new vigorous atmosphere to the crowd. Their eccentric dance moves and rich instrumental sounds were driving the crowd and I was utterly surprised by their incredible performance. In fact, at that point I realized that I was a virgin to local Chinese acts and was astonished by how creative and musically talented Chinese bands could be. It was really refreshing to see such a passionate and energetic crowd, made up of 90% Chinese youngsters, basking in the glory of the lush sounds, rhythmical movements, and vibrant attires.

The fans at the front started mosh pits, a few attempted stage dives, and towards the end some even bravely climbed on stage, dancing madly with the band. It was a very “很HIGH” moment as the Chinese would say.

Finally, after a few encores, fans were satisfied, caught in the moment, and many rushed to the product booths to purchase more Nengmao shirts and other New Pants products. New Pants’ very own singer Peng lei wrote and illustrated one of the books for sell (Peking Monster). Its raw verse, childlike drawings, and imaginative content stand out as a great symbol of Chinese pop culture. When asked his opinion on the future of art in China, he explained,

“The Chinese government recently realized that investing in creative industries is much cheaper than subsidizing oil and coal. So they started to give money to young people to encourage them do the creative projects that might turn profitable. However, in China, the government still puts limitations on those of us who are “too” creative. For example we had some music performances that were shut down by the government because we were doing punk music, which those politicians thought was evil or something. So I would say there is still a long way to go before I can say that China is a country that supports its artists.”

Fortunately, from what we have seen on Friday night, even without the support from the Chinese government, the creative arts and music scene in Shanghai is thriving and doesn’t see a sign of stopping… yet.

Beibei will be following her online shopping passion with a bi-weekly report on new online shopping trends in the market. This week’s topic explores the online shopping trends of new mothers and the un-sustainability of this habit.

As an expecting mother, 9 months of pregnancy is an both an exciting and exhausting period of time. In 2009, over 16 million Chinese mothers endured this child bearing passage to give birth to their wondrous bundles of joy. This 9 month period of time often represents 9 months of relative isolation and rest time for Chinese mothers, sparking what has become an unbelievable growth in online purchasing power.

This period of time for expecting Chinese mothers is a traditional period known as 坐月子 (Zuo Yuezi), which translates to “sitting the month”. Chinese people recognize “Zuo Yuezi” as a period when the mother’s body, including hormone levels and uterus size, returns to pre-pregnancy conditions. It usually lasts 30 days, but regional variants may last 60, 90 or as many as 6 months. Tradition specifies a restricted diet and puts limitations on activities considered to be harmful. During Zuo Yuezi, the mother is expected to spend all of her time indoors, much of it in bed, and is prohibited from numerous activities such as bathing, hair-washing etc. Online Chinese shopping sites have come to the rescue for antsy moms-to-be. Because of its convenience, new mothers increasingly go online both to look for necessities and entertainment.

New moms like meeting other moms with a baby of the same age. The BBS of Liba.com, a locally-based white collar household guide, has proven itself as the top online spot for moms to exchange various information including baby education, postpartum recovery etc. Moms post link recommendations in their online groups when they find good-quality baby items online. In addition, they often organize or join certain MSN /QQ online groups which provide another method to share resources and information. Fengli, a 30 year-old new mom who works as an editor at Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press shared the list of items she usually purchases online: early education books as well as other books she enjoys, snacks, toys, a baby seat & desk, diapers, imported milk powders, and other early education tools. Many moms confessed buying clothes and cosmetics for themselves on Taobao.com as they spend more time on their computers.

Aiyingshi.com was frequently mentioned by new Shanghai moms; it is a comprehensive online store selling baby items ranging from toys, formula, food, clothing and accessories.

One Chinese mom says,

“My baby is growing fast and quickly loses interest in his old toys. He has already outgrown his baby bed and now his baby seat too. I have to keep buying new items for him even though I think it’s wasteful and bad for the environment. China lacks second hand websites or markets for baby items, so it is inevitable for us to buy new things”.

Yihaodian.com is where moms go for snacks and imported food. Most expressed contentment with their “buy 100rmb, get free door-to-door delivery service” policy. Sometimes they can even get a better discount than they can shopping at supermarkets. Dangdang.com is another popular site with a wide variety of books to meet the mother’s needs.

Online shopping has certainly made preparing for a baby more convenient and sometimes it’s even cheaper. For these reasons new parents will buy more and more products online. Without a price incentive to create a market for used baby products or disincentive for buying new off the internet, sustainability is taking a back seat. With this increase in online shopping habits during the Zuo Yuezi period, we will be tracking whether or not the recycling habits of new mothers is increasing as well.

Can new mothers be the catalyst for actual sustainable change in China? Time will tell.

“I’d rather be crying in a BMW than smiling on the back of a bicycle” said one woman (Ma Nuo) on If You Are the One, the most popular in a new crop of Chinese dating shows. The show has since come under government censorship for polluting the malleable minds of Chinese young people with open gold-diggers or bai jin nu.  (Confession: I listened to Kanye West to set the mood for writing this article.)

Many think that Chinese marriage is becoming more and more materialistic. I’ve been told that despite all other qualifications a woman will lose face if her boyfriend or husband doesn’t have a house, car, AND a promising job. They must not be right out of college… With more young people and more competition for jobs come longer hours and less time for dating. One recent post on Baidu cuts to the chase,

“I’m 25 years old, looking for a boyfriend. I want you to have an apartment and car. The apartment has to be built after 2000 and the car has to be better than a minivan.”

Another popular TV reality program is just called “Don’t Bother Me Unless You’re Serious.” And let’s not forget Miss Luo’s demanding leaflets. Michael, a 26-year-old freelance artist, says he has given up on Shanghai girls because he doesn’t “have any sugar.”

The ‘marriage market’ in People’s Square provides another prime example of frankness about relationships that many Westerners find crude (and sometimes appalling). Grandparents and parents of busy career men and women gather at the park on weekend days and post papers with their progeny’s height, weight, education level, monthly salary, and dating history for females and the same minus weight and plus the ownership of a car and house for males. I think the papers look sort of quaint decorating the bush branches with hand-written characters. Quaint and efficient. We don’t even have to waste time talking if your son makes under 3000 RMB/month.

A concerned mother collecting information for her son's potential wife.

This past week, I attended author Mina Choi’s book talk at Garden Books in Shanghai. Her presentation of Shanghai Girls: Uncensored & Unsentimental roused an international audience with nearly equal gender representation. Girlfriend Lanlan told Choi and Choi told us stories upon stories of Shanghai girls marrying foreign men thirty years their senior and the quick transformation observed by their friends from an 800RMB/month lifestyle to perfect spoken English, perfect hair and makeup, and a foreign passport. When her ambition outgrew the starter boyfriend or starter husband, the Shanghai girl upgraded. The Western men in the audience were the most outraged by the book, citing true love and ethics. Most of them were married to or dating Shanghai girls. One American girl said she didn’t think that gold digging was a new thing she just thought Shanghai girls were “much better at it.” Choi seemed to take the stance that these girls were simply being practical, using their best assets to move up in society.

While hair color no longer gives away financial status in major Chinese cities, money seems to matter as much or more to girls as they think about marriage. One student worries that his college girlfriend won’t marry him if he doesn’t land a certain salary right out of college while another’s family disapproved of their daughter dating someone with a major that wasn’t Econ. At first exposure these ideas sound shallow (and somewhat ridiculous) to the romantic Western ear but in all honesty we talk about the same things. We just whisper. Maybe we’d be happier if we were more transparent about what we wanted, like a Shanghai girl.

So what trends are we seeing this summer? One item you are guaranteed to see young Chinese girls adding to their summer accessories is the straw hat. Their ubiquity has been on a slow rise since last summer, where we tracked a few trendiers types already incorporating the piece into the summer outfits and after recent trip to Hangzhou music festival, take my word that this is a must have for eighties/nineties girls this summer.





The straw hat itself is an accessory most readily identified with the 甜美 or ‘sweet girl’ style. Other important components in this style are pale, flowy tops or skirts with floral prints and flowery accessories. While this trend is not particularly ‘standoutish’ or unique it has moved from a hardcore contingent of those who followed Tokyo street style and been appropriated for a more mass and uniquely Chinese style. We see the 90’s generation mixing and matching with other popular accessories of the time, thick rimmed frames, canvas shoes, etc.

From a wider Asian perspective, being that this style is all about emphasizing the softness of being a girl, it’s a well endorsed look throughout Japan, Korea and Taiwan. While its roots lie in Japan, nowadays it’s fragmented into a more distinct style of ‘doll-kei’ and more recently the ‘mori-girl’ or forest girl styles. Of course we know that the Japanese invented ‘kawaii’ but there has definitely been some innovation around Asian in past couple of decades.

"doll-kei" and "mori-style"

In Korea, this author has drunk a few bizarre cups of coffee in ‘sweet girl’ or ‘fairytale’ style cafes. Couples can spend their afternoons lounging around in surroundings full of soft furnishings, lacey curtains with Beatrix Potter style illustrations adorning the walls, whilst cuddling up to oversized Teddy Bears with Pachelbel’s Canon playing over the stereo. Sickly sweet, some might say.

Back in China however, current fashion brands catering to the sweet girl style include Japanese brand Olive des Olives. Of course mix and match pieces can be found in Zara and H&M but the majority of young Chinese are no doubt purchasing from in the cheaper clothing markets – particularly the straw hats. Also Japanese toy brand Monchhichi, despite its frightening appearance, also seems to contribute as a significant handbag/mobile phone accessory to complete the ‘sweet girl’ outfit.

Beyond just the realms of fashion, could this trend evolve into something more? We here at enovate have visited some smaller independent tea and coffee houses opening by young entrepreneurial Chinese people. Following Korea, will we see a rise in cute cafe culture in China?

Although the ‘sweet girl’ style came to my attention through a simple straw hat, its more deeply rooted lifestyle elements tell an interesting story about Asian femininity in general. The very nature of being soft and cute is important in overtly male dominated societies like Japan and Korea, and although the battle of sexes in China has its own nuances, the importance of appearing soft and cute is still a mainstream ideal to finding a partner.

The term chaotic is defined as being in a state of complete confusion or disorder. To me this simply sounds like every day life. The world revolves in a seemingly spontaneous, chaotic manner, yet it’s measured, guided and traversed by human beings. We are able to harness this chaos through the creation of social systems and structures.

After 24 years of life on this earth my social observations are more and more articulated and fine-tuned as I place situations into an analytical frame. The images, events, actions, dynamics, and interactions still ping-pong in a random chaotic state, yet I’m able to at least partially understand each situation and interpret the meaning at hand.

Imagine if this chaos did not exist in everyday life. Each day follows the same pattern, same interactions, same food, same smells, same same. Would Earth still exist as we know it today? Would culture thrive, build, and conquer? Earth would be a boring repetitive spinning top that never stops.

Chaos is absolutely necessary in research. It creates the unique social dynamics that we observe and analyze on a daily basis. Without chaos, I would not have a job, nor be writing this sentence. This is important to keep in mind when selecting the proper research methods to employ in your research design. It’s all fun and games to employ methods that attempt to remove the necessary structures and systems in place for data gathering, yet exacerbating chaos is like removing one side of your analytical frame, and the things inside begin spewing into other frames, skewing your data and your results. It can be messy and inefficient.

Harnessing this concept of research chaos is a skill I’m still attempting to master. Balancing innovative research with systematic dryness is definitely not a task that I claim expertise over. However, as I place more and more social situations into manageable frames of chaos, it becomes easier and easier to creatively uncover data.

Users need to enroll on the main competition page and then recommend music for the BMW 3 series on the 9911 microblog. Other users (which seem to be mainly friends of the participants) can vote for their peers and by July 1, the 2 participants with the most votes will win a trip to the famous Fuji Rock Festival!! (Japanese version)





As of today, the competition has already attracted over 36,700 participants and is still going strong. The top 2 competing users currently have 2614 votes and 1289 votes respectively.





This campaign links to myspace’s strong presence in indie music, and capitalizes on the rising popularity of music festivals in China. The target audience (the young music enthusiast and ‘Japanophile’) fits well with the target market for the BMW 3 series, which represents an aspiration for youth as well. Key elements utilized in this campaign are:

• High interest topic, high profile prize
• Social sharing functions on myspace and 9911 microblog
• Having contestants spread the word about the competition in order to win votes
• Allowing each person to vote once a day helps in psychologically utilizing social proof and also boosts return visits to the site
• The use of influencers (e.g. musicians) in the voting guarantees some more general appeal

However, there are also several limitations we see from this campaign:

First, the platform. It’s obviously in myspace’s best interest to keep this campaign within the myspace platform. However this limits the potential audience reach. It will be interesting to see how many new users myspace acquire through this campaign and what percentage of them will remain active after the campaign. By being completely contained on the singular myspace platform also hinders the spreading of this campaign onto other platforms.

Since the general idea is that the contestants will go on to their IM or SNS page(s) to broadcast this message, one can calculate the reach by applying a simple forumla: # of contestants x # of friends reached. There are several conversion steps happening here and you are guaranteed to lose a percentage of people at each step: participate, ask friends to vote, click through, friends vote or not (need to sign up for myspace to vote)… I’ve always thought it’s kind of a shame that we don’t have any good cross-platform sites like digg or stumbleupon. Is it because the social networks in China are all trying too hard to captivate their users so they don’t open up to third party sites?

Secondly, the transparency debate. This competition is very transparent in that it discloses all key numbers, number of participants, number of votes, etc. Transparency is good and gives credibility to the competition but on the other hand, it also discourages the runner-ups to strive for more votes if the gap is too big.  This might be why we see the votes drop sharply between the #1 contestant and #5.

Finally, competition. When there’s a big prize involved, competition is competition. We saw some trash talking between the top contestants, and criticism on each other’s music tastes etc. It’s okay for this campaign but if you’re aiming for a collaborative campaign, then I would say a big prize definitely discourages collaboration.

With the competition about to reach its climax, it will be interesting to see how myspace can follow through with sending the bloggers to Japan and if they can cause a big stir with that experience.

What’s your impression about the campaign? Would love to hear from our readers!

EXTRA READING: List of “voting” campaigns on various platforms

McD on douban: http://www.douban.com/minisite/mtoys/public_album/29147861/?start=60
NB on poco: http://www1.poco.cn/topic/nb_2010/index.php?r=index/topic
Nike Sportswear on Renren: http://page.renren.com/600003017/page-02

The Creators Project is a network dedicated to the celebration of creativity and culture across media, and around the world. It is featuring Chinese creatives such as the singer and guitarist of Carsick Cars, and animator Ray Lei, and it is going to end with a big 3-day finale event in Beijing this September. Stay tuned for upcoming events info.

Please see flyer below or click here for more details.

enovate is happy to announce our first-ever giveaway. From May 27 – 30, Shanghai will be host to the world’s best skateboarding, inline skaters, BMX, and MotoX riders. We’ve decided to offer you, our faithful readers, a chance to check out China’s action sports scene first-hand by offering up a set of X-Games tickets for Saturday (May 28).

Rules & regulations: Just enter your email below. Come Wednesday, May 26, we’ll contact the winner to pick up their tickets. Simple as pie.

Update: Congrats Tyler! See you by the halfpipe on saturday!

Trendsetter: Gao Ya

Gao Ya is a college student at a Shanghai music engineering university, but is also passionate about acting. Much of her style influences derive from various genres of Rock music, from AC/DC to Beatles. She aspires to become an art director and clothing designer for films.

“Every night I will think about what I should wear the following day. In the morning I generally spend one hour to dress up and make sure my clothing, bag, accessories, hair style all match. I will stay home all day if I don’t know what I want to wear.”
“Lookbook is a major inspiration in terms of my personal style”
“I always pay attention to details… small little things can make our life interesting” (example: Mahjong bracelet below)

Gao Ya's Mahjong Bracelet

Trend Follower: Zhang Yu

Zhang Yu is a 22 year old Shanghai local, who has spent time studying in Australia. We definitely picked up on his strong international influences. As a high-level trend follower, he’s incredibly passionate about the latest fashion developments and is always ahead of the curve. He admitted to religiously changing his style every 3 months or so to keep it fresh.

“After graduating university in Australia, I flew back to Shanghai. My suitcase was 20 kilos over-weight, and it was all clothing!”
“My fashion philosophy can be summed up in three words: Fast, Accurate, and Decisive.
Fast: You have to be faster than others to be a trend follower!
Accurate: You should choose the right style that fits you, not Fei zhu liu!
Decisive: You need to be decisive when you are shopping. Do not hesitate to buy and don’t think about saving money.”

Zhang Yu circa 2008

Zhang Yu's foray into street fashion

Mass Fashion Prescriber: Mei Ling

Mei Ling is a 20 year old college student at Jiaotong University. As a high school student she was more into sports than fashion. Being on the swim team meant short hair and being in shape was more important than following fashion trends. But as is often the case, a college crush led her to start dolling herself up. Unfortunately, her crush went moved overseas, so she has since gone back to a causal – comfortable style.

“My favorites are comfortable t-shirts and jeans”

“To me, fashion trends are too far-removed, I just can’t keep up with them.”

This is from an event called “Annual Radio & Television Correspondents’ Dinner.” Chinese netizens were pleasantly surprised to see Chinese comedian, Joe Wong, make an American audience burst into laughter, despite his strong Chinese accent.

Based on the 1000+ comments the video has already received, you can tell many Chinese viewers don’t understand his jokes. Fortunately, some english-speaking netizens have helped out by translating, or explaining a joke’s cultural context. After viewers finally come to understand his roast, many are compelled to laugh and feel a sense of pride that a Chinese comedian has been up at the podium at such a prestigious event to crack jokes on American politicians.

In my opionion, his sense of humor doesn’t come from his Chinese background, but rather his experiences in America. I’m not sure how well it went over with American audiences, but here’s what I say: Joe Wong for president!