Young people drive Shenzhen's night economy

The night economy in Shenzhen has shown a significant upward trend in recent months, leading the country in consumption by young people.

According to domestic food-delivery giant Meituan, nighttime consumption in Shenzhen has doubled since the beginning of this year, making the city fourth among all cities in China.

Meanwhile, Meituan ranked Shenzhen at the top in total transactions made in shopping malls and first in the number of KTV outlets opened in the country.

"The night economy has become an important part of the modern urban economy; it is a barometer for measuring a city's economic prosperity," said Yuan Shuai, vice-president of the Agricultural and Cultural Tourism Industry Revitalization Research Institute.

In an effort to boost its economy, China unveiled a plan in July to restore and expand consumption through a series of measures to encourage the standardized and innovative development of cultural and travel spending.

In line with the plan, Shenzhen has taken the lead as a pioneer of the night economy.

According to local authorities, the proportion of people 20-35 years old engaging in leisure activities in Shenzhen reached a remarkable 72 percent, securing it as the top doing so in the country.

It also showed that a diverse range of sports and fitness activities are gaining popularity in Shenzhen, including physical training, ball sports, swimming, indoor rock climbing, boxing and indoor skiing.

From July to August, there was a significant increase in bookings for night sports and fitness activities in Shenzhen, with an increase of 150 percent over the same period last year. Of those, bookings for ball sports saw an impressive surge of nearly 350 percent.

To meet the growing demand of young people, Shenzhen has been updating its diverse services and retail industry. Escape rooms, bistros, craft beer bars and indoor pet houses, can be found across every district in Shenzhen. A variety of venues extended their business hours until midnight or even later.

Wang Li, head researcher at Co-Found Think Tank, said the purpose of developing the night economy in Shenzhen is to improve the city's economic vitality.

"The night economy can promote consumption and economic growth of the city, while it also serves to foster the local service industry and cultural tourism industry," she said.

Chen Junyu contributed to this story.