China’s New Culture of Cool: Understanding the world’s fastest-growing market

Introduction

The youth population in any country fascinates us. The newness of their perspective, the innocence of their exploration, and the sheer joy of their playfulness is a powerful tonic when life seems overly defined and predictable. But we are particularly drawn to this current generation of young Chinese, because they embody all of these characteristics and in addition some that are rarely seen elsewhere. These young people, roughly 15 to 29 years of age, are contributing significantly to the economic growth and cultural development of China. They are fearless in their pursuit of the “good life,” confident of a future that will be better than the past or present. They are a generation of early adopters, happily leaving behind a less ...