Those of us living in China might have been spared the tumultuous drama that our US counterparts have experienced in 2017, but like always, the Middle Kingdom has had its own fair share of attention-grabbing headlines. From the boom of shared bikes to a presidential visit from The Donald, our team has put together a list of 2017’s most unforgettable viral stories, recounting major events that defined the worlds of sports, tech, arts, fashion and food. Here’s to another year of eclectic, weird and wonderful life in China, we wouldn’t have it any other way.
For more, follow our full 2017 Year in Review coverage.
A look back at the year in Chinese lifestyle trends and events.
E-Commerce Shopping Holidays
Who has time to find a new boyfriend or girlfriend on Singles’
Day? November 11 is now all about buying a new iPhone, handbag
or even a refrigerator! For e-commerce giant Alibaba, the
annual shopping extravaganza generated a whopping RMB168.2
billion in sales – a 39 percent increase from 2016. Rock on, Jack Ma! If you missed out on those sweet 11/11 deals, no worries — there are plenty of other shopping festivals these days, including 3/1, 6/18, 8/18, 12/8, 12/12 and Amazon Prime Day.
Victoria's Secret
The American lingerie brand made a big splash in China in 2017 with the opening of two flagship stores (in Shanghai and Chengdu) and the 'Hai playing host to this year’s Victoria’s Secret Fashion
Show, which saw dozens of models descending upon the city to walk
the runway at the star-studded event (those who got a travel
visa did, anyway) in November. Jane Zhang, Harry Styles and
Miguel provided the entertainment, but it was Shanghainese
model Ming Xi, who stole the show when she took a tumble
during her walk. (Ouch!) Taylor Swift and Katy Perry were
previously rumored to be part of the performance lineup as
well, but couldn’t make it in the end… because there would
be too much ‘bad blood’ on stage, right?
Luxury and Streetwear Crossovers
The fashion world has seen many crossovers between
luxury and street fashion labels in recent
years, but Louis Vuitton and Supreme’s collaboration,
which debuted at the Paris Fashion Week in
January, took things to another level. After Luhan
was seen wearing a limited edition red hoodie
with the LV monogram and Supreme box logo,
the asking price for the item on eBay went up
to USD25,000 (about RMB165,000), or nearly 30
times its retail price. Thanks, Luhan…
KOLs (Continue to) Strike Gold
An increasing share of the marketing
budget of brands in China has gone to
hiring KOLs (key opinion leaders), who
have millions of followers across different
social media platforms, as their
spokespeople. High profile brands like
Jaeger-LeCoultre and New Balance,
for instance, have tapped internet
sensation Papi Jiang to head up their
advertising campaigns this year. Expect
more to come in 2018.
For more 2017 Year in Review coverage, click here.
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