Ask anyone under the age of 30 living in urban China about the coolest thing to do in the post-Covid era, and you’ll hear the same answer: the city walk. As the name suggests, the city walk trend involves exploring urban areas in a relaxed, thoughtful way, akin to the French flânerie concept, a kind of aimless strolling, of the 19th century. Since the country lifted its Covid-19 lockdown in early 2023, “city walk” is among the most popular lifestyle trends in China. Originally a niche activity enjoyed by urbanites during the lockdowns, city walks rapidly evolved into a mainstream lifestyle. The social media platform Xiaohongshu ranked “city walk” fifth among its “Top 10 Lifestyle Trends of 2022.” Today, this trend has become a lifestyle synonym for urban cool in China, with over 2.15 million user-generated content notes and 440 million views on Xiaohongshu alone. Who is the city walker? “The typical city walker is a white-collar young professional wearing #clean fit clothing and strolling the streets with a cup of $8 craft coffee at Wukang Road in Shanghai,” describes Lili Jing, a Bilibili fashion critic during his viral video commenting on the trend. In essence, city walkers have become China’s equivalent of the athleisure-wearing, smoothie-holding crowd found in the bustling streets of New York and London. According to a study from the marketing firm Kurun Data, over 60 percent of city walkers are college-educated, high-income women between the ages of 18 and 35, residing in China’s first-tier cities. This specific demographic, highly coveted by luxury, fashion, or just any consumer brand, views city walking not only as a leisure activity but also as a lifestyle aesthetic to showcase their updated taste. As the former urban strolling movement becomes a status symbol among young consumers, a growing number of lifestyle brands have already teamed up with local influencers to create themed city walks for the greater fan community to enjoy. Localized citywalks, activations, and brands Swiss recycled bag label Freitag, for instance, initiated a Shanghai city walk from its boutique on Jiaozhou Road back in May. Having previously created content with Shanghai’s city walk influencers, Freitag seamlessly integrated itself into the movement and gained much traction on China’s social media since the trend took off. Today, an iconic Freitag crossbody bag is considered an essential accessory for the city walk starter pack. Xiaohongshu, the social media platform instrumental in city walking’s meteoric rise, organized a week-long “Road Life Festival” in Shanghai’s trendiest neighborhoods in August. With tailored city walk routes designed for fashion, culture, and food lovers and over 200 events hosted around the city, the campaign generated 20 million views under the hashtag #RoadObserver (马路观察员), further solidifying city walk’s cultural hype. For brands, city walk has become a strategic tool for fostering authentic engagement with young, experience-hungry urbanites. “City walk fosters connection between brands and customers because it provides the perfect scenario where customers can eat, walk, drink, and absorb information simultaneously. It helps brands to make authentic engagement and experiences with their fan groups,” said Jeffrey Chan, Head of Clients of the branding consultancy Treedom. From offline to online traction Although it began as an offline trend, city walk has also evolved into a business buzzword to drive online traffic. According to the Chinese social data agency NewRank, advertisements containing the word “city walk” reached an overall 7 percent conversation rate on Douyin (China’s TikTok), higher than the industry average. Beauty and fashion brands are stepping into the city walk spotlight with creative and immersive events. In September, Schwarzkopf held a “Color District” parade at Shanghai TX Huaihai Plaza to promote the brand’s new coloring shade, Honey Light Gold. Tapping into city walk’s popularity, the event gathered over 100 beauty KOLs and 10,000 visitors for the parade to celebrate bold styles. Peco, a Chinese designer bag brand, adopted a playful approach with a “Dog Walk Show” on the streets of Shanghai to celebrate its ninth anniversary in late September. The brand styled nine models and dogs to stroll along the streets of Shanghai, with bag straps redesigned into leashes. Here, city walk is used not as an event concept but as an urban aesthetic to resonate with the brand’s fashionista customer base. City walk’s resurgence in post-Covid China may be part of global consumers’ record-high spending on experiences, but it is also a uniquely contemporary Chinese phenomenon. The common thread uniting these city walk-related brand events is young people’s desire to get out more on the streets and live more in the moment. With the “lying flat” movement continuing to gain momentum among China’s youth, city walk is yet another sign of the Chinese generational culture shift from relentless hustling towards a slower-paced, “chillaxed” lifestyle. “Gen Z consumers today are motivated by connection rather than consumption. City walk is the perfect example because it signifies this generation’s curiosity that goes beyond the products and the brands,” explained Treedom’s Head of Clients Jeffrey Chan. While new buzzwords may emerge one after another, they all point to the same social movement: young consumers are embracing a lifestyle that combines leisure, aesthetics, and immersive experiences. The key to authentically connecting with the new consumer generation, Chan believes, is to help them reconnect and have fun.
