Where challenge is a game

The report shows that by the end of 2018, there were nearly 10,700 escape room venues across the country, most of which were located in metropolises, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing. More than 40,000 users had made at least five bookings to play escape room games via the platform last year.

The reality show Great Escape, where a team of celebrities experience such escapades, has been released to bring the fun to both players who have experienced the game and viewers who have never tried it before.

The show's director He Shu says that the escape room game, which requires teamwork, speed, problem solving skills, creativity and patience, has become a trendy and popular social outlet for young people. Many of them prefer to play the game with friends in their leisure time rather than going to the cinema or shopping together.

"It gives us a strong sense of achievement, when people meet the challenge and break out from the escape room, which requires reasoning skills, physical effort and efficient collaboration," she says. "It's a good ice-breaking tool to make new friends, as well as grow closer with old ones."

Its second season, aired on livestreaming platform Mango TV since June 30, has seen a group of celebrities－including actress Yang Mi, actor Deng Lun, pop idol Huang Minghao, singer-songwriter Zhang Wei and cross-talk performer Guo Qilin－experience thrilling adventures in several well-designed escape rooms, some of which offer a theme pertaining to moral issues.