S1E32: Chinese' salve for loneliness: Pay to drink at strangers' homes

The rise of home bars in cities across China shows how young Chinese are craving for companionship but without having to invest in relationships. Synopsis: Every first Friday of the month, The Straits Times chats with ST’s correspondents in the Asia-Pacific, the US and Europe, about life as it goes on, amid the screaming headlines and bubbling crises.  #family-style bars is now a search term for listings of home bars, not just for first-tier cities Beijing and Shanghai, but also Zhengzhou in central China, Chengdu in the south-west and Hangzhou on the eastern coast.  Instead of going to commercial nightspots, young Chinese are looking to spend their free time in the living rooms of strangers’ homes, where they pay for drinks, conversations and games.  In this episode, ST’s foreign editor Li Xueying chats with China correspondent Aw Cheng Wei on why the trend is taking off, and what it says about the Chinese wanting to make connections in a safe and casual environment.  Highlights (click/tap above): 3:48 How are home bars different from regular bars? 5:08 Home bars are not meant to make money for some owners 7:00 How home bars are part of China’s “da zi” or companion culture  11:50 Chinese youths need for a deeper connection  Read Cheng Wei’s article here: https://str.sg/iAyf Produced by: Li Xueying ([email protected]) and Fa’izah Sani Edited by: Fa’izah Sani Follow Letter From The Bureau Podcast every first Friday of the month here: Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7 Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8 Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/ Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Feedback to: [email protected] Read Li Xueying’s articles: https://str.sg/iqmR  Follow Li Xueying on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/ip4x Read Aw Cheng Wei's articles: https://str.sg/wzce Read ST's Letters From The Bureau: https://str.sg/3xRd Register for Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/stnewsletters --- Discover more ST podcast channels: All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7  The Usual Place: https://str.sg/wEr7u  In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt  COE Watch: https://str.sg/iTtE  Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7  Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN  Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf  Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m  Hard Tackle: https://str.sg/JWRE  #PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad  Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX  --- ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts  ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa  --- Special edition series: True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2  Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn  Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB  Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa  --- Get The Straits Times' app, which has a dedicated podcast player section: The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB  Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX  #STAsianInsiderSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.