Nowadays, against the backdrop of consumption upgrading, the creator economy centered on individual creativity is becoming an important force in reshaping the urban commercial ecosystem. In the ancient capital of Luoyang, a group of creators have created unique new consumption scenarios by deeply integrating cultural expression with business practice.
Recently, in the Tang Dynasty-style guesthouse “Yinju” in Luoyang, the owner Zhao Dan is experiencing the making of handicrafts together with the guests. In a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere, traditional skills were endowed with more vitality.
Zhao Dan said that she wants to make her homestay more interesting. Over 80% of her guests come from the local area and nearby cities. What tourists are seeking is not a long-distance trip but a “micro-vacation” experience that allows them to escape their daily routine right at their doorstep.
The uniqueness of the “owner economy” lies in deeply integrating personal aesthetics and cultural expression into business practices, creating living spaces with distinct value propositions. Zhao Dan said that to create such an experience, the homestay not only offers butler-style services but also incorporates intangible cultural heritage experiences such as dough figurine making, guzheng playing, and qipao dressing into the consumption scenarios, allowing cultural inheritance to naturally connect with modern life.
The same innovative practices have also extended to the coffee culture sector. “We hope that tourists visiting Luoyang can not only taste the water banquet and beef soup, but also enjoy premium coffee,” said Ma Lekai, the owner of “Temporary Coffee”. In the 10 years since returning from studying abroad, he has expanded his stores to five and invited world-class baristas to collaborate on the development of creative drinks that blend regional flavors, such as “Luoyang Spicy Soup” and “Luanchuan Kiwi”.
Although coffee is an imported culture, it can resonate with the city in the most down-to-earth way. In the social space created by Ma Le Kai, coffee has become an emotional bond connecting people. Through the way of old customers recommending new ones and interests gathering communities, small hobbies gradually converge into cultural communities with cohesion.
Journalists’ visits have found that in Luoyang, the group of such managers is constantly expanding, and the involved fields have extended to niche markets such as independent clothing, humanistic bookstores, cultural and creative design, and pet life. The relevant person in charge of the Guangzhou Market Pedestrian Street said that currently, the street has gathered many new business forms managed by such managers, which have played an important role in improving the quality of the street and promoting consumption, adding a strong sense of life to the city.
This year, Luoyang City has implemented the “Luoyang Young Store Support Plan” centered on the “store owner economy”. Through measures such as distributing consumption vouchers and building exchange platforms, it has supported over 200 “Luoyang Young” stores and introduced trendy business types like coffee and tea, as well as intangible cultural heritage handicrafts. In the first ten months of this year, the city’s total retail sales of consumer goods reached 199.76 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6%. The consumption market has shown a positive trend of quality improvement and capacity expansion.
With the vigorous development of the influencer economy, Luoyang City will cultivate more cross-border integrated consumption scenarios to inject new vitality into the city’s development.
(Reported by Jia Zhen)
