Discussion keeps the world turning.
You're listening to Roundtable.
I'm Nianhe Ling, joined by Steve and Yixuan.
Across Chinese cities, more and more young people are venturing into abandoned factories,
unfinished housing projects and closed hospitals,
documenting their experiences online under labels like urban ruins exploration and ruins aesthetics.
Is this purely a creative subculture or a complex convergence of social media incentives,
youth anxiety and regulatory blind spots.
And some believe a couple walking side by side is a kind of sentence.
Two clauses meant to make sense together.
When one shows up dressed for the stage and the other for the couch, the sentence breaks.
This is a swag gap moment.
Now a growing number of young adults say they've ended relationships because of it.
Let's take a closer look at this new dating trend.
But first...
Against the backdrop of social media's prevalence,
ruins aesthetics and dream core have sparked a widespread trend of urban ruins exploration among Chinese youth.
This phenomenon involves young people venturing into sites such as abandoned factories,
closed hospitals, and even uncompleted construction projects.
They document the experiences through poetic narratives and cinematic visuals shared on social platforms.