China’s “stamp collecting trips” are popular among young people | 36Kr Japan | One of the largest media specializing in Chinese tech startups

Recently, “stamp collecting trips” have become popular among young people in China, following the type of sightseeing that involves walking around the city called “city walks.” During this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays (September 29th to October 6th), stamping commemorative stamps at many tourist destinations has become a new craze.

Tora, a stamp collector, says, “If you see a long line at a tourist spot, there’s a good chance that there’s a stamp stand at the end of the line.” When deciding on a travel destination, she has developed the habit of searching for “place names and stamp collections” on Internet social networking sites (SNS). “There is a lot of room for improvement, such as what route we can take to collect stamps efficiently.”
　
At the 19th Asian Games (Hangzhou Asian Games), which ended on the 8th, the popularity of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, exploded. At the city’s Yuhang District Administrative Service Center, a long line of people formed to collect 61 commemorative blue stamps representing Asian Games sports. Wang Ming, a tourist from Beijing wearing traditional Han Chinese costume, visited the Confucius Temple Scenic Area in Qufu City, Shandong Province, and began his stamp collecting journey. Wang, who is interested in traditional culture, said, “It is meaningful to record Confucius’ journey to his hometown with stamps.”
　
According to data from Dodo Travel, a major Chinese travel booking site, among the trending keywords related to this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, “stamp” ranks second only to “road trip” in popularity. It was 2nd place. According to the company, the reason “stamp collecting trips” are so popular among young people is primarily because they satisfy young people’s psychological needs for culture. Through stamp collecting, young people are trying to visit more niche cultural institutions and museums, have unique experiences, and create their own meaningful memories. In addition, by sharing your travel experiences and stamp collections on SNS and promoting your own experiences and cultural background, you can increase interaction on SNS and increase your recognition. Furthermore, “Stamp Travel” is a modern twist on traditional culture, allowing young people to directly experience China’s traditional seal art and feel the charm of good old culture through stamps.

Xiong Haifeng, an associate professor at the College of Cultural Industry Management at Communication University of China, points out that collecting stamps is a motivator for tourists to travel, a means of conveying experiences, and a medium of memory. Consumers are placing more emphasis on a sense of participation and ‘ritualism’ in tourism, and the ‘stamp collecting boom’ reflects tourists’ consumption trends in pursuit of low cost, high quality and deep experiences. , said that “small and beautiful” tourism culture creative products are becoming more and more preferred. (Xinhua News Agency Beijing)