In recent years lifestyle, consumerist habits and aspirations have started to form around the almost ‘exotic’ and hence alluring notion of self as a distinct identity aside from family and peers. The passage from conformity to individualism has been the single most powerful and influencing driver in contemporary China. Career paths and aspirations are forming around the still exotic and hence highly alluring notion of self as a distinct identity. Because individualism has been ‘discontinued’ across the history of China – as opposed to the Western world – it is now a much stronger driving force that influences many aspects of life and trends.
