Consumption practices in China have been transformed at an unprecedented pace. Under Mao Zedong, the state controlled nearly all aspects of what people consumed, from everyday necessities to entertainment and the media; today, shoddy state-run stores characterized by a dearth of choices have made way for luxury malls and hypermarkets filled with a multitude of products. Consumption in China explores what it means to be a consumer in the world’s fastest growing economy. LiAnne Yu provides a multi-faceted portrait of the impact of increased consumption on urban spaces, social status, lifestyles, identities, and freedom of expression. The book also examines what is unique and what is universal about how consumer practices in China have developed, investigating the factors that differentiate them from what has been observed among the already mature consumer markets. Behind the often staggering statistics about China are the very human stories that highlight the emotional and social triggers behind consumption. This engaging book is a valuable resource for students, scholars and business professionals interested in a deeper understanding of what motivates China’s consumers, and what challenges they face as more aspects of everyday life become commoditized.

Recent decades have seen China's domestic consumption in sectors such as food, housing, health care, education and travel greatly increase. This important book assesses China's current food consumption trends and the outlook for its future needs of such a crucial commodity. Key features of the book include: - A systematic examination of the key elements shaping food consumption, with particular attention to factors peculiar to China; - An evaluation of changes in food consumption between rural and urban residents, the rich and poor, and consumers of different regions and identification of the key drivers behind such changes; - A comprehensive coverage of all major food items including foodgrains, meats and other animal products, fruits and vegetables, alcoholic drinks, and aquacultural products; and - A projection for China's food import needs by 2020. This book will be of great relevance to anyone who is interested in the dynamics of Chinese food consumption, such as commodity traders, leaders of agri-food industries, food trade officials, and food market researchers. It will also prove a valuable reference for undergraduate and postgraduate students majoring in food marketing and trade, general food and agricultural economics and scholars studying food consumption issues.

This wide-ranging collection of essays by leading sociologists on the new consumerism of post-economic-reform China is an important contribution to our understanding of Chinese society and culture.

This book examines how heritage interacts with social-cultural changes and how individuals perform and negotiate their identities through daily practices that include tourism, on the one hand, and the performance of ethnicity on the other.

Explore the world-changing digital transformation in China China's Mobile Economy: Opportunities in the Largest and Fastest Information Consumption Boom is a cutting-edge text that spotlights the digital transformation in China. Organised into three major areas of the digital economy within China, this ground-breaking book explores the surge in e-commerce of consumer goods, the way in which multi-screen and mobile Internet use has increased in popularity, and the cultural emphasis on the mobile Internet as a source of lifestyle- and entertainment-based content. Targeted at the global business community, this lucid and engaging text guides business leaders, investors, investment banking professionals, corporate advisors, and consultants in grasping the challenges and opportunities created by China's emerging mobile economy, and its debut onto the global stage. Year 2014-15 marks the most important inflection point in the history of the internet in China. Almost overnight, the world’s largest digitally-connected middle class went both mobile and multi-screen (smart phone, tablets, laptops and more), with huge implications for how consumers behave and what companies need to do to successfully compete. As next-generation mobile devices and services take off, China’s strength in this arena will transform it from a global “trend follower” to a “trend setter.” Understand what the digital transformation in China is, and impact on global capital markets, foreign investors, consumer companies, and the global economy as a whole Explore the e-commerce consumption boom in the context of the Chinese market Understand the implications of the multi-screen age and mobile Internet for China's consumers See how mobile Internet use, its focus on lifestyle and entertainment is aligned with today's Chinese culture Learn about the mobile entertainment habits of China’s millennial generation and the corresponding new advertisement approaches The development of China’s mobile economy is one of the most important trends that will reshape the future of business, technology and society both in China and the world. China's Mobile Economy: Opportunities in the Largest and Fastest Information Consumption Boom introduces you to the digital transformation in China, and explains how this transformation has the potential to transform both China and the global consumer landscape.

Based on interviews with entrepreneurs, professionals and regional party cadres' from a range of age groups, this book argues that Western class categories do not directly apply to China and that the Chinese new middle class is distinguished more by socio-cultural than by economic factors.

The population of Asia is growing both larger and older. Demographically the most important continent on the world, Asia's population, currently estimated to be 4.2 billion, is expected to increase to about 5.9 billion by 2050. Rapid declines in fertility, together with rising life expectancy, are altering the age structure of the population so that in 2050, for the first time in history, there will be roughly as many people in Asia over the age of 65 as under the age of 15. It is against this backdrop that the Division of Behavioral and Social Research at the U.S. National Institute on Aging (NIA) asked the National Research Council (NRC), through the Committee on Population, to undertake a project on advancing behavioral and social research on aging in Asia. Aging in Asia: Findings from New and Emerging Data Initiatives is a peer-reviewed collection of papers from China, India, Indonesia, Japan, and Thailand that were presented at two conferences organized in conjunction with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy, Indonesian Academy of Sciences, and Science Council of Japan; the first conference was hosted by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, and the second conference was hosted by the Indian National Science Academy in New Delhi. The papers in the volume highlight the contributions from new and emerging data initiatives in the region and cover subject areas such as economic growth, labor markets, and consumption; family roles and responsibilities; and labor markets and consumption.