BEIJING, May 2 (Xinhua) — Zhao Hairui, a mountaineering lover with in depth expertise climbing snow mountains, has simply tried indoor mountaineering for the primary time at a gymnasium in Chengdu, southwest China’s Sichuan Province, travelling from his dwelling within the nation’s northeast, roughly 4 hours away by air.
“I have travelled here especially for this experience,” he stated. The venue, opened formally in January this 12 months, is China’s first mountaineering gymnasium.
GO NICHE SPORTS
Ice climbing, wherein climbers use instruments equivalent to ice axes to ascend routes on usually steep ice, is usually seen as a distinct segment sport. But the gymnasium, named ICE PANDA, sees a busy five-day May Day public vacation that started Friday in China, pushed by demand from younger individuals looking for new vacation experiences.
The gymnasium’s every day bookings through the May Day vacation exceed 40 individuals, nearing full capability. More than 60 p.c of holiday makers are from outdoors Sichuan.
“Many arrived with their suitcases and started climbing right after keeping them at the counter,” stated Wajie, head of the gymnasium.
According to a report from the General Administration of Sport of China, as of early April 2025, greater than 400 million individuals had participated in outside sports activities, with younger and middle-aged individuals being the primary shoppers.
Located in Sichuan, a dreamland for hikers and mountaineers with one of many nation’s richest snow mountains, ICE PANDA expects to draw not solely mountaineers looking for a spot for coaching, but additionally younger people who find themselves keen to attempt area of interest sports activities.
“Even an absolute beginner can climb the gentle slope after just a few lessons,” stated Wajie, referring to a 60-degree slope provided on the gymnasium for freshmen, in distinction with a 79-degree steep slope and a 90-degree vertical face for veterans and professionals.
A primary-time expertise prices 498 yuan (73 U.S. {dollars}), together with a one-hour session, one-on-one instruction and full tools. It won’t be a low value for a lot of, however for Zhao, the expertise was price it.
“Now people prefer to pay for activities that they can actually engage in,” he stated. “It gave me a great sense of achievement and also relaxation when I reached the top step by step under guidance.”
TRAVEL WITH PETS
Another expertise that younger Chinese wish to pay additional for is travelling with their fluffy relations, as 69 p.c of city cat and canine homeowners within the nation final 12 months had been born within the Nineties or 2000s, as proven in a pet business white paper launched in January.
According to the white paper, China had 126 million pet cats and canines in city areas in 2025. Meanwhile, over 70 p.c of pet homeowners had a willingness to journey with their pets.
Ahead of the May Day vacation, a pet-themed dwell session of Li Jiaqi, a widely known e-commerce streamer in China, featured greater than 120 pet-related merchandise from journey security gear to outside relaxation objects, and attracted over 10 million views.
“We have responded to the strong consumer demand for relaxed travel and people’s desire to include pets in travel plans,” stated sources with Meione, the corporate behind Li’s livestreaming room.
RENT FOR HOLIDAY
As a file 1.52 billion inter-regional journeys are anticipated throughout this May Day vacation, renting objects for journey, particularly cameras, has emerged as a rising development amongst younger individuals.
On rrzu.com, a web based rental platform, pre-orders forward of the vacation have risen considerably by 58 p.c from the earlier 12 months, with standard objects being cameras, drones, handheld gimbals, and telephoto lenses.
Most orders had been made by shoppers underneath 30, in accordance with the platform, which has greater than 60 million customers.
Despite rental costs rising to round 650 yuan for 4 days through the vacation for a Sony full-frame digital camera with a lens, many rental outlets on Xianyu, China’s main second-hand buying and selling platform, look like totally booked for cameras and smartphones.
“Concerts, travel and fan-related photography account for the largest share among holiday rental orders,” stated Liu Junzhi, a employees member at a digital camera retailer in Shanghai.
According to Chen Liang, who’s in command of the rental enterprise at Xianyu, rental orders have grown greater than tenfold over the previous three years, turning into a brand new development engine for the platform.
Core classes embody digital electronics, in addition to attire and equipment, equivalent to cosplay costumes. “These items are rather expensive to purchase but used infrequently in daily life, and often cater to one-off demand,” he stated, including that this mirrored a extra rational consumption mindset of younger individuals.
China’s rental companies market is increasing quickly. In 2025, the value-added output of leasing and enterprise companies grew 10.3 p.c 12 months on 12 months. A report from Beijing-based information analytics agency Analysys predicts that China’s new rental market, primarily based on credit score methods on digital platforms and primarily focusing on younger generations, will strategy 1 trillion yuan by 2030.
Chen stated the rise of the rental companies market mirrored not solely an innovation in consumption fashions, but additionally the event of the round economic system. “As consumption concepts continue to evolve, the rental industry will unleash greater vitality in the economy.”