Chinese New Year is near; the poor can't afford to go home; cities and towns are empty everywhere

What's the point of celebrating the New Year? It's already the 21st. We can't even find a single person on the New Year's Eve. Chinese New Year is near. The poor can't afford to go home. Cities and towns are empty everywhere. Look, what's the point of celebrating the New Year? Today is the 21st day of the 12th lunar month, and there is not a single person on the street. Some are not coming back to celebrate the New Year. Some are on their way back, and some have already returned. Families who are locked up at home did not go out. Some young people with money moved to the city and only come back to visit on the first day of the Lunar New Year. In the 1980s and 1990s, although people were poor, they still enjoyed the festive atmosphere of the New Year. Many people in Taiyuan may have seen this video recently. It shows that all the shops on the street are closed. This is not a big deal in normal times, as it has been really difficult to do business in the real economy this year. But this is... It's already the end of the year, and the Chinese New Year is just a few days away, yet there's not a single person on the streets. Actually, it's not just that. Have you noticed? This year, there are no promotional activities for New Year goods in major shopping malls, nor are there any New Year goods exhibitions. I haven't seen any stalls selling couplets or lanterns on the roadside. This New Year is very quiet. What do you think is going on? Who is making the most money this year? I used to sell corn very well, but now it's hard to sell. I wanted to find a job, but I heard that many factories have closed down. The factories can't get any orders. The most exaggerated thing is that house prices have dropped, but no one wants to buy. Construction sites have stopped working. I just ran into my neighbor. He hasn't found a job for half a month and has been sleeping at home. You said if I don't set up a stall, what should I do during the day? I would like to ask, where are you working this year? Where can I make money? Take me with you, and I'll pay you the agency fee. Maybe starting next year, many people will not celebrate the Spring Festival. This year might be the last normal Spring Festival for many ordinary people. Now it is the 12th lunar month, and there is no Spring Festival atmosphere outside. Many companies that celebrated the Spring Festival in previous years are already holding annual meetings by this time, but this year there are very few, almost none. In previous years, many companies compared what kind of New Year goods or gifts they gave out. For example, some gave out rice, while others gave out large bonuses with some employees receiving tens of thousands of yuan as a year-end bonus. But this year, there are very few people eating New Year's Eve dinners in restaurants. New Year's Eve is just a few days away, but many netizens say that the festive atmosphere is becoming less and less intense. The streets are deserted now, and the shopping malls are no longer busy. In the past, they were decorated with lights and offered promotions and discounts, but now, although everything is there, very few people are around. Take a look and see what is the meaning of celebrating the Chinese New Year now. It seems that the New Year is just a few days away, but the streets are still deserted. In the past, the streets would have been so crowded that it would have been impossible to squeeze in. Now, not to mention being unable to squeeze in, even if you ride a bike or drive a car, it's all clear. What is the reason that the festive atmosphere of the New Year is becoming less and less? I think this year is the strangest one in my life. A strange thing happened in our village. Look at how deserted our village is. It is already the 10th day of the 12th lunar month, and the Chinese New Year is just a few days away. There are very few young people in the village. I don't know what happened this year. In previous years, the young people would all return to the village at this time, but this year, there are very few of them. Only a few elderly people are playing cards and strolling around in the village. What is going on? I don't know if it's the same where you are, folks. In previous years, young people would come back to the village, but this year it's much quieter. At least we don't have to worry about traffic jams. Today I went to charge my phone, and then my wife and I went to the supermarket for a while. We found that there were only a few people in the supermarket. It seems that this year is the strangest year. It's very quiet. Usually, during the Chinese New Year, everyone would go to the supermarket to buy necessities for the New Year, but this year, there is none of that. I feel that this cannot be explained by consumption downgrade. Is it because no one made any money? It doesn't seem right to have no money. Logically speaking, retired employees shouldn't have such a problem. It's almost 11 o'clock. Where are you? Where have all the people gone? Are they all stuck on the highway? I was at home thinking the store would be packed with people, but when I got here and saw it, I was disappointed. How could there be any Chinese New Year atmosphere here? Do I not need to buy new clothes for the Chinese New Year? There are about 10 days until the Chinese New Year. This is the rural fair in Wangqiao's hometown on our street. In previous years, at this time, there were always huge crowds of people, gongs and drums, firecrackers, and the streets were packed. It would be so crowded that you couldn't even squeeze in. Look at this year. The streets are so deserted. There are only a few people scanning the barcode. This is our Wangqiao street. Look, there are very few people on each street. It's New Year's. Where are all the people? It should be the peak season for barbershops, but there are actually no customers in the barbershop. Look at the supermarkets now. Apart from the stockers and cashiers, there are only a few customers. Beverages aren't selling well, bread isn't selling well, fruits aren't selling well, and no one is buying prepared food. How can ordinary people dare to eat food like that? There are so many preservatives, so many additives, and so many colorants. Don't think that hospitals are just places to sell medicine. It turns out that the food bought from supermarkets is also like medicine. Restaurants are closing down one by one and shopping malls are completely empty, except for the hospitals, which are packed with people. Some netizens who dare not go home for the New Year said that when you can't make money, home is no longer home, and the New Year is no longer the New Year. The Chinese New Year is about a week away. I may not be able to go back this winter. I really don't have the energy to do so. I did some calculations myself. A ticket costs 350 yuan, which is enough for a family of three. The round-trip ticket costs 2,000 yuan. My brother has two children, and my sister has two children. Each child gets 500 yuan as New Year's gift money. That's 2,000 yuan for four children. I haven't had time to visit my mother for a year. It's not too much to give her 5,000 yuan. After traveling such a long distance, staying for a week, visiting relatives and friends, and buying fruits, cigarettes, alcohol, tea, and various gift boxes, 5,000 yuan should be enough. Believe it or not, there must be many people who can't even take out 1,000 yuan during the Chinese New Year this year. Let's not even talk about 1,000 yuan. Maybe many people don't even have 100 yuan. What do you think they will do during the Chinese New Year? A few days ago, I heard my sister talk about a friend of hers whose parents were born in the 1980s. She said they depended on their parents for support, and now their parents are already taking care of their grandparents. I have been a guarantor for others and have taken out loans worth hundreds of thousands of yuan. Now I can't pay them back and have become a dishonest person. I am now unemployed and have no income. I don't even have money to pay for my children's college education. I can only reach out and ask my parents for help. The New Year is coming. Are you panicking? Is it urgent? Is it difficult? Anyway, I'm in a panic. I have no face to go home for the New Year, and I have no face to face my parents. I have been working since I was 18, struggling year after year, but in the end, I have nothing. Now I'm already in my 30s. It's quite ridiculous. I'm divorced. Sometimes I wonder, what's the point of living like this? Sometimes I figure it out, and then I keep going through this over and over again, day after day. Many of my friends have told me recently that they are not planning to go home for the Spring Festival this year. One reason is to save money, and the other is to have a good rest. We thought that after going home for the Spring Festival, we could have a good rest for a few days. In fact, during the Spring Festival, besides spending money, you also don't get much rest. From the second day of the New Year, you start visiting relatives, and it continues until the fifth or sixth day. When your relatives are all gone, it's time to go back to work, but you don't really get to rest at all. Chinese women have no money to buy big-name cosmetics. They are crying. A wave of shopping malls is closing down in Shanghai. Women have always had a strong interest in shopping and are a weather vane for consumption. The reduction in cosmetics purchases by Chinese women reflects the overall consumption trend in current society. As mass consumption has downgraded, many shopping malls in mainland China have closed, and Shanghai has not been spared. In 2019, the total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 8% year-on-year, with cosmetics growing by 13%, surpassing general consumer goods. Even in 2020, during the outbreak of the epidemic, when retail sales of consumer goods declined by 4%, cosmetics still maintained a 10% growth rate. However, starting in 2022, the consumption of cosmetics began to slow significantly. In 2023, social consumer goods grew by 7%, while cosmetics consumption rose by only 5%. By November 2024, social consumer goods had increased by 3%, but cosmetics consumption had dropped by 26% compared to the same period the previous year, showing an accelerating downward trend. This indicates that women's consumption of cosmetics is declining, and the low-priced replacement trend has entered the female cosmetics market. In the past, Chinese women primarily purchased foreign brand cosmetics, but now they are shifting to more affordable local brands, causing the total cosmetics consumption in China to decline rapidly. In a department store near the Bund in Shanghai, the foreign cosmetics counters on the first floor are deserted, while the underground floor hosting Chinese affordable beauty brands is bustling with activity. I used to work in a state-owned enterprise and ordered take-out almost every day. After I stopped working full-time, I began cooking at home. Now I don't buy anything unnecessary. I no longer use consumption to please myself or care about whether my clothes are fashionable. A former state-owned enterprise employee shared, although I still spend, I have abandoned the idea of poverty consumption and started rejecting ineffective social interactions, leaving time for things and people I genuinely enjoy. Apart from traveling to broaden my horizons and experience local cultures, I no longer buy expensive items. It's not shameful to downgrade consumption. While the money saved won't make us completely free, it brings us some happiness. Shanghai's shopping malls are eerily quiet, with many stores closed. Physical retail is in decline. The once popular Shanghai online night market, Zhongguo Street, has shut down. Previously, stall owners could earn tens of thousands of yuan monthly, with some making over 100,000 yuan. Now, some barely make tens of yuan daily. Various factors, such as management issues, contribute to this, but the most significant is the drop in consumption and the lack of customers. Qipu Road, Shanghai's largest clothing wholesale market, tells a similar story. Hello, everyone. I'm Shanghai Motorcycle No. 2 Leather Gear. Today is August 19th, and I'll show you the current state of Qipu Road. This is the overpass leading to the market. It used to be so crowded you'd risk being stepped on. Now, it's nearly empty. This should be the time for new autumn and winter styles, yet the entire market feels lifeless. The once thriving Qipu Road, packed with people, now has few visitors and no energy. Entire sections of the mall that were once rented by e-commerce sellers are now closed. The market has changed dramatically. Shanghai boasts 416 malls, but many are struggling with poor business and low foot traffic. One example is Yaxin Food Plaza on Changshou Road. Once a fashion hub for the post-80s generation, it is now a haven for takeout services. Many stores on the first floor are closed, with some only offering a takeaway pickup point window. Upstairs, most shops, including piano and real estate stores, remain shuttered, while parents attending children's classes wander off in search of food. Other struggling malls include Landmark Plaza, located on Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street. It closed on January 31, 2024 after 26 years of operation. It will take at least two years to reopen. Greenland Bund Chaofang opened in 2021. This mall near the Bund is so deserted that even McDonald's has closed.