This photo taken on April 16, 2026 shows handicrafts made by customers at a handicraft store in Taiyuan, north China's Shanxi Province. (Xinhua/Chen Zhihao)
TAIYUAN, April 16 (Xinhua) -- From humming pottery wheels to meticulous bead-crafting tables, once-niche DIY workshops are transforming into China's hottest weekend destinations. The boom highlights a profound shift as young consumers pivot from purchasing mass-produced goods to investing in "emotional satisfaction" and shared experiences.
Inside a bustling handicraft store in Taiyuan, capital of north China's Shanxi Province, the appeal of this "experience economy" is palpable. Customers gather around workstations: some carefully assemble bead patterns by following printed designs, others use paint to create landscape scenes, and a young couple shapes clay together.
For many participants, the appeal lies not only in the finished object, but also in the process itself, and a chance to disconnect from digital screens and enjoy the simple pleasure of creation.
"I'm making a plate inspired by my cat," said customer Zhao Wei. "The final piece may not be as perfect as something made by a professional or by a machine. But compared with perfection, what matters more to me is creating the image of my cat as I see it in my own heart."
For some families, such activities have become more than a casual pastime.
Wang Qian, mother of an energetic four-year-old boy, swapped physically draining outings for craft sessions. "It allows me to spend time with him, while also helping him build concentration."
In Shenyang in northeast China, one shop owner replaced all other handicraft offerings with bead art products after demand surged in 2025, while in east China's Shanghai, weekend sessions are now routinely full, with one workshop's 29.9-yuan (about 4.4 U.S. dollars) one-hour bead-crafting session logging more than 11,000 purchases in a year.
Online momentum has reinforced this trend. On the e-commerce platform Taobao, sales of pixel bead art products exceeded 100 million yuan in 2025, while the lifestyle platform Rednote said related discussions had topped 23 million last year.
The rising demand is fueling a lucrative market. According to market research firm iiMedia Research, China's market for emotion-driven spending exceeded 2.3 trillion yuan in 2024 and is expected to surpass 4.5 trillion yuan by 2029.
Economist Guan Qingyou, dean of the Reality Institute of Advanced Finance, said the sense of experience is becoming an increasingly important factor in consumption decisions.
"Consumers are paying more attention to the overall process and the emotional satisfaction that comes with it, rather than simply owning goods," Guan explained.
He added that consumption motivations are also shifting from display-oriented spending toward self-fulfillment, with younger consumers in particular viewing spending as a way to please themselves and improve their sense of happiness.
The boom in handicraft experiences is feeding into related sectors and creating new job opportunities. Data from business registration platform Qichacha showed that 6,955 handicraft-related enterprises were registered in China last year, up 31.08 percent year on year.
Upstream supply chains have also received a boost. The growing popularity of textile-based handicrafts, for example, is generating fresh demand for materials such as fabric and yarn. MARD, a bead art brand, currently produces about two tonnes per month, noting that output across the supply chain has risen by 150 percent year on year since the start of 2026 as demand continues to grow.
As the experience economy continues to gather momentum, handicraft-based consumption is emerging as a visible new consumer scene in China. More than a passing fad, it reflects a broader shift in how people choose to spend: not just on goods, but on time, companionship, emotional value and the satisfaction of making something with their own hands. ■
A customer makes handicrafts at a handicraft store in Taiyuan, north China's Shanxi Province, April 16, 2026. (Xinhua/Chen Zhihao)
