SINGAPORE: Rather than return to her hometown in Guizhou for Chinese New Year, Ah La, a 31-year-old marketing communications manager, chose to spend the holidays at a digital nomad community in Shenzhen, along with nine others – playing games and hosting late night gatherings over hotpot by the sea.
Chinese New Year might be a time for family reunions but for millennials, the annual holiday is growing increasingly “repetitive”.
“The people you meet, topics you talk about and the food you eat at home are all very repetitive … Going home (every year) means repeating celebrations from the year before that all over again,” she told CNA, adding that the festive atmosphere “had really faded”.
“What I value most is being able to connect with others who share similar interests,” she said.
Like Ah La, more youths are opting to spend the eight-day public holiday – from Jan 28 to Feb 4 – in other ways.
The annual chaotic travel rush, changing family dynamics and new lifestyles have been increasingly upending China’s most important holiday, experts say.
Also spending Chinese New Year away from home is Jiang Ningzhi, a 35-year-old business consultant from Suzhou city in the eastern Jiangsu province.
Every year, her family heads to a local hotel to host a grand reunion dinner for friends and relatives, a tradition he says has now become dull and routine.
This year, she wanted to celebrate the new year in a more traditional way, so she headed to Shuiku Village in Shanghai, a rural area that has become especially popular with young digital nomads looking to connect with nature and escape the stresses that come with city living.
She spent time chatting with locals, having a simple dinner and watching fireworks in the quiet township.
