3 min read

Chinese Millennials Want Pets Instead of Babies

Boyfriends and girlfriends can be a lot to handle. Pets, on the other hand, are drama-free.
Chinese Millennials Want Pets Instead of Babies

Too busy to check in on the RADII website every day? We got you every Monday with a summary of all the freshest takes on China’s youth culture in the last week:

Intrigued? Keep scrolling, my friend.

Chinese Millennials Aren’t Having Babies, Picking Pets Instead

Kelly Wang, a 27-year-old woman based in Shanghai, recently took her cat Tangka on a six-hour-long weekend road trip. She rented a car and drove south of Shanghai to Lishui city, which is famous for spectacular rice terraces and mountain views.

“I don’t want her trapped in my apartment and getting bored,” says Wang, who works in the media industry in Shanghai, “I want her to see the beautiful world outside of my apartment’s walls.”

Wang credits Tangka with helping her find comfort in China’s most populous metropolis, which is located a 16-hour drive from her parents’ home. “It’s really assuring and comforting when you know someone will always be there waiting for you at the end of the day. My room is no longer a cold room, but a home.”

After all, a boyfriend or girlfriend can be a lot to handle. Pets, however, are drama-free.

The second and final trailer for Marvel Studios’ The Eternals dropped last Thursday, and we’d be lying if we said we aren’t impressed:

The film was directed by Beijing-born, Chinese-American filmmaker Chloé Zhao, who also co-wrote the screenplay. But whether or not the film will hit silver screens on the Chinese mainland remains unclear.

  • The Chinese Paralympics team of 251 athletes is off to Japan for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Paralympic Games. They will be participating in the most events in China’s history at the Paralympic Games.
  • Pop idol Kris Wu was officially arrested for suspected rape last week. It’s safe to say that the internet has gotten incredibly creative.
  • The FIRST International Film Festival has long been one of the most important film events in the country. This year, it featured a new film section on female stories to boost female perspectives in China’s film industry.

Though KFC only arrived in China in 1987, China is now home to the most KFC stores globally, with 7,300 outlets in over 1,500 cities.

Then Korean fried chicken became a thing around 2013 when the K-drama My Love From the Star became a hit in China.

But actually, China invented its own fried chicken a millennia ago, and now domestic fried chicken fast-food restaurants have even surpassed the likes of KFC. For example, Zhengxin Steak Chicken has three times as many stores as KFC.

So how different do they taste? Lu and Elaine talk about China’s love for fried chicken and compare local Chinese fried chicken and its Korean and American counterparts:

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