China's youth embrace renting

中国年轻人拥抱租房生活

Round Table China

2025-10-24

19 分钟
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The old dream was built on ownership: a house for security, a car for status. But China's younger generation is trading that dream for a new kind of freedom. Why own things that tie you down, when you can rent a lifestyle that lifts you up? On the show: Niu Honglin, Steve & Yushan.
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  • Discussion keeps the world turning.

  • This is Roundtable.

  • You're listening to Roundtable.

  • I'm Neil Ho-ling, joined by Steve and Yushan.

  • For centuries, ownership was a symbol of stability or making it.

  • A house meant security, a car meant status.

  • But for China's younger generation, those symbols are shifting fast.

  • Why tie yourself down to things that age when you can live through moments that renew?

  • Today, we are taking a look at the rise of the rental lifestyle here in China.

  • These days, more and more young people in China are discovering that renting can be a smarter,

  • lighter way to live.

  • Not just for apartments or bikes.

  • like medical devices that make wellness more accessible,

  • or sports cameras that capture a perfect trip without breaking the bank are also happening.

  • So what's driving this renting boom?

  • Is it about saving money, chasing new experiences,

  • or redefining what ownership really means in the digital age?

  • To start with, what are the things that young people are renting these days?

  • Gosh, all that you can think of, right?

  • Like you mentioned the very necessary things that people used to own all the time like a car like a house nowadays young people they perhaps they get married and still live in rented house as a way to save save up for the future speaking of which when you said why tie yourself down to something that gets old I suddenly felt very sorry for my wife When you can keep living anew,