Shanghai is crying! 80% Forced to Cut Back as Desperation Spreads

Shanghai is crying. A land of despair. 80% of Chinese people are downgrading their consumption. It's all covered in today's China Truths. Many shopping and consumption continues to downgrade. As the Chinese New Year in 2025 approaches, many netizens have posted videos saying they have no money to celebrate the Let's talk about related topics today. Blogger Ziyu Emotion posted that 2025 is the coldest and most gloomy traditional Chinese New Year in history for two reasons. First, everyone is struggling and short on money. After a year of hard work, many people have not only failed to earn money but may also be in debt. Basic expenses have become a burden, and their enthusiasm for celebrating the traditional Chinese New Year has significantly decreased. Second, the employment situation is dire. Many people are back in their hometowns for the New Year holiday, but they are anxious and feel pressured to rush back to the city, fearing they might lose their jobs. Layoffs and unemployment are rampant, making it impossible for them to relax, even though the holiday is not yet over. Returning to the story of going home for the traditional New Year. This year, fewer people will go home for the New Year than in previous years because they have no money. It costs at least 6,000 yuan for me to go back, and I would have to overdraw my wages for February and March. Is this a good thing? I really don't want my debt to snowball. Why not use savings? Are you kidding? Who has savings? Last year I was completely penniless. The year before that, I opened a catering sideline business and lost 60,000 yuan. Without money, how could I still have the face to go home? How much money did you give your parents for the New Year this year? Tell me so I can envy you. I'm not afraid of being laughed at when I say it. But we may not have a penny this year. For the sake of fairness, neither of our parents received money this year. My husband and I are both ordinary workers. Our monthly salary is only about 7,000 yuan. The monthly mortgage and car loan payments add up to about 5,000 yuan, so we are under great pressure. As soon as our monthly salary arrives, we pay off the mortgage and car loan first, and the rest is used for daily expenses. We can't save money for the children, so we didn't save a penny this year, let alone give money to our parents during the Chinese New Year. The thing we fear most after getting married is the Chinese New Year. Compared to those who earn money to support the whole family, it is difficult for us to save money even when we earn. Fortunately, my husband and I are very optimistic. We are careful with our expenses, but also very clear about the money we should spend. So, after working hard for a year, I still didn't save any money. I give 20,000 yuan every year to my parents when I go back home to show my filial piety. My parents know it is not easy for me to make money so they don't want my money every year, but I still insist on giving it to them. They put the money into a card and said they would give it to my children in the future. In my opinion, making money to show filial piety to parents is the most important thing for children to do. I don't need to prepare the New Year's goods at home, so the expenses are reduced. I prepared 2,000 yuan for the children's New Year's money, 2,000 yuan for visiting relatives and friends, and 1,000 yuan for eating with close friends. For the New Year, with a new atmosphere, I spent 600 yuan on cleaning myself up, totaling 35,600 yuan. Looking at the expenses and then at my salary, I am really shocked. This is just the stage of having elderly parents and no children. It is said, whether you have money or not, you should go home for the New Year. After calculating, I found that if you don't have 10,000 or 8,000 yuan, you would feel ashamed to go home for the New Year. But what is the New Year? Who do you spend the New Year with? The New Year is about being with your family. Migrant workers have been working hard for a year, just waiting for this moment of reunion. So, I think it is worth spending any amount of money. How much money have you prepared? Hello everyone, today I came to Baolong Plaza, the former top shopping mall on Kowloon Road, Pudong, Shanghai. It used to be said that one shop could support three generations, but now it's the other way around. The shop you bought is now really one shop that will make three generations poor. They are all closed. It is Saturday, the weekend, and it's past 12 o'clock. No one is open. Oh, there is an old Beijing fried noodles shop in front that is still open. Look, they are all closed. It is terrible. If you bought this store at a high price, you are probably crying in the toilet now. It used to be a top shopping mall. When Baolong Square Carrefour was still open, it was really crowded. Now it is terrible. This is the center of Baolong Square. The former Carrefour is in front, and even the convenience stores are closed. Everyone says that consumption has been downgraded, but we also see that the tourism industry in the mainland seems to be booming, and no matter which tourist attraction you go to, it's crowded. However, blogger Lu Ji believes this is also a manifestation of consumption downgrade, indicating that people are unable to engage in large-scale consumption. You are talking about consumption downgrade. Wrong. It's not a downgrade at all, but no consumption at all. No one is outspending. There are still 10 days before the Chinese New Year, yet there are no people on the streets. Only a few customers come into the store daily. Ordinary people really don't have money in their hands. They truly don't consume. If they can avoid buying, they don't buy. If they can buy less, they buy less. It's really too difficult. How serious is consumption downgrade? This is our China Resources vanguard in Nanchang. It was crowded with people back then. Now, as the Chinese New Year approaches, let's look at the popularity here. In previous years, this place was full of cars. Now, there are only a few cars. It is completely empty. It's 7.30 in the evening. Look at the crowd. How can this be called consumption downgrade? There is simply no consumption. Did you make money this year? Tell me. This blogger from Shen Yun said she calculated her average monthly income this year was 7,000 to 8,000 yuan. But she didn't dare to spend because she had no confidence in the future. She said she only bought three pieces of clothing this year. In the summer, she spent more than 100 yuan on a black skirt. Half a month ago, on her birthday, she bought a sweater and a pair of jeans because she had dinner with friends in Zhangjie, which cost just over 500 yuan in total. These are the three pieces of clothing I bought this year. As for skincare products, I am still using the face cream I bought last year. There's a little bit left, and I haven't used it up. It cost 400 to 500 yuan. I didn't say that I am too poor to buy skincare products, but the biggest feeling I have this year is that I am reluctant to spend money. She said she now tries to save money, cooks at home whenever possible, and rarely orders takeout. It's because this year I feel I have the least sense of security since I started working. This year's work gives me the feeling that you could lose your job even while you're working. A recent survey shows that 80% of Chinese consumers believe they are trapped in consumption downgrade. The general consumption concept among people is, don't buy if it's not necessary. If it is a must-have product, they choose to buy low-priced items. Many shopping malls in mainland China are deserted, and the same is true for shopping malls in Shanghai. There is no festive atmosphere at all. It is December 25, 2024. I am in Greenland Colorful City, Putuo District, Shanghai, at 1.30 in the afternoon. Can you imagine? I seem to be the only one in the entire mall. Dressing trees and sweaters sparks online debate as a harbinger of national decline. As China faces economic recession, declining consumption, and widespread unemployment, leading to many wandering homeless on the streets, local governments across the country have taken to wrapping roadside trees in elaborate sweaters to present a so-called prosperous era. This practice has been endorsed by state media through expert opinions, but netizens have criticized it as wasteful, drawing parallels to the extravagance of Emperor Yan of the Sui dynasty, who adorned trees with silk for vanity. Many see this as a harbinger of national decline. Since October, videos and photos from cities across China have shown trees adorned with colorful, intricately designed sweaters. These sweaters feature vibrant patterns, ornaments, and sometimes cartoon characters. The practice reportedly began in a Beijing park, where trees and alleys were dressed in colorful sweaters to provide winter protection and improve the urban atmosphere. The idea quickly spread to other cities. Unofficial statistics online indicate that cities dressing trees in sweaters include Beijing, Changchun, Dongying, Binzhou, Linyi, Qingdao, Chongqing, Shanghai, Zhaozhuang, Houhot, Hefei, Wuhan, and others, spanning the country. According to Beijing state media, these sweaters are costly. For example, it can take a week to hand-knit one sweater for a single tree, requiring about 200 pounds of yarn for five trees. Officials claim the initiative significantly enhances warmth and social sentiment. On December 15, CCTV, the state-owned China Central Television aired a program titled Dopamine Tree Sweaters Go Viral. Do Trees Need Winter Sweaters for Warmth? Forestry experts were consulted and concluded that dressing trees in sweaters is beneficial from the perspectives of winter protection and However, the practice has faced widespread backlash. Many netizens criticized the government for unnecessary waste, pointing out that many impoverished people lack adequate clothing and food. Some lamented that people live worse off than trees. Videos circulating online show workers in former manufacturing hubs like Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Guangdong Province, Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, and Kunshan, Jiangsu Province, struggling to find jobs and wandering the streets for extended periods. Even in Beijing and Shanghai, many are seen sheltering at train stations or sleeping in parks. Reports of starvation have surfaced but are heavily censored by authorities. On December 5, a netizen captured footage of Beijing West Railway Station showing numerous homeless individuals. The blogger noted that after midnight, authorities expel them, leaving them to endure freezing winter temperatures. Comments from a netizen. Which country is this? Posted on Twitter, December 10, 2024. On December 8, in Zemedian, Hunan Province, a man was spotted wrapping himself in plastic bags for warmth, starkly contrasting with trees adorned in sweaters. Some online commenters drew comparisons to a practice over 1,000 years ago during the reign of Emperor Yan of the Sui Dynasty. According to the Zizhi Tongjian, or Comprehensive Mirror for Aid and Governance, Emperor Yan adorned trees in Wuyang with silk during major trade fairs to showcase the empire's prosperity. Foreign merchants and tribal leaders visiting the capital were treated to extravagant displays. Even vegetable vendors were required to decorate their stalls with ornate materials, and trees were wrapped in silk. Despite these ostentatious displays, foreign guests questioned the practice. One merchant reportedly asked, There are poor people in China who lack proper clothing. Why not use this silk for them instead of wrapping trees? Local merchants were ashamed and unable to respond. Independent commentator Mu Yang highlighted these comparisons on his news program NewsWatchPoint, noting that extravagant practices like wrapping trees in silk often signal the downfall of a regime. He remarked, Emperor Yan gave trees silk clothing, yet many foreign dignitaries questioned why the silk wasn't used to clothe the poor. Shortly after, the Sui Dynasty fell. Online reactions have echoed this sentiment. Extravagance heralds a nation's downfall. The history of Emperor Yan dressing trees in silk is repeating, a sign of impending collapse. A mix of Emperor Yan and the doomed Ming Chongxin Emperor.