{"id":750,"date":"2026-06-02T07:08:56","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T07:08:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=750"},"modified":"2026-06-02T07:08:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T07:08:56","slug":"from-hiking-to-hotpot-lonely-consumers-in-china-fuel-a-7-4-billion-companionship-economy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=750","title":{"rendered":"From hiking to hotpot, lonely consumers in China fuel a $7.4 billion companionship economy"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><div><div><ul><li>Summary<\/li><\/ul><\/div><div><\/div><\/div><div>BEIJING, June 2 (Reuters) &#8211; On the stone steps leading up Mount Tai, one of China\u2019s best-known peaks, hikers can book and \u200cpay for \u201cclimbing buddies\u201d to walk with them, carry bags and take photos for a few hundred yuan.<\/div><div>The increasingly popular service is part of a broader \u201ccompanionship economy\u201d emerging in China, which includes paid partners for running, sightseeing and even eating out at hotpot restaurants \u2013 a meal traditionally shared with friends.<\/div><div>Providers, often students or \u200byoung gig workers, advertise on social media with promises of \u201cemotional value\u201d, conversation and practical help, turning what was once an \u200bexperience or favour among friends into a bookable \u2013 and payable \u2013 service.<\/div><div>While there is no official data about \u2060the size of the companion economy, estimates cited by state media said it was worth around 50 billion yuan ($7.4 billion) in 2025.<\/div><div>The \u200btrend reflects broader shifts in China\u2019s urban lifestyles and service economy. Researchers and state media have described growing demand for \u201cemotional consumption\u201d as young \u200bpeople live and work farther from family networks, face longer working hours and have a harder time maintaining traditional social ties.<\/div><div>China&#8217;s prolonged youth unemployment has coincided with &#8211; and contributed to &#8211; a growing reliance on gig and flexible work among young people, as graduates and job seekers turn to delivery, ride\u2011hailing and \u200bother online platform work in the absence of stable jobs. Official data shows China has more than 200 million so-called flexible workers.<\/div><h2>PAYING \u200bFOR COMPANY<\/h2><div>After leaving the army in 2022, Chen Wenxin founded a hiking-companion company, with a focus on the eastern province of Shandong.<\/div><div>\u201cI have always been \u200ca hiker \u2060and have a lot of hiking experience,&#8221; Chen said. &#8220;I noticed rising demand in the hiking escort service, then decided to try my hand in the field.\u201d<\/div><div>His team has expanded from fewer than 10 workers to about 370 now. He said the company charges 800 yuan ($116) for daytime climbs on Mount Tai, the highest point in Shandong.<\/div><div>Psychotherapist Sami Wong, managing director of research firm 3Drips Psychology, said the appeal \u200bof paid companions is partly about \u200bcertainty and control in a \u2060social environment that can otherwise feel like a lot of effort and high-risk.<\/div><div>Meeting people requires emotional labour and investment, she said, and \u201cthe outcome is very uncertain,\u201d which creates anxiety. Paid companionship can help \u200bcustomers avoid the sting of rejection.<\/div><div>\u201cWhen you pay for this service you always get a &#8216;yes&#8217;,\u201d Wong \u200bsaid.<\/div><div>Tang Junxing, 24, a \u2060junior at a university in the southern Chinese city of Guilin, said he earns pocket money as a travel companion. The side gig started when a university professor asked him to be her driver on a week-long road trip.<\/div><div>\u201cThat\u2019s when I realised you can actually make money \u2060by accompanying \u200bpeople on trips and driving for them,\u201d he said. Tang says he typically \u200bearns 3,000 to 5,000 yuan a month.<\/div><div>\u201cMost of my clients are women and their core need is emotional value, someone who makes them feel good and makes the \u200btrip easy,\u201d he said.<\/div><div>(This story has been corrected to say 50 billion yuan, not 500 billion yuan, in paragraph 4)<\/div><div><address><div><div><noscript>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"120\" height=\"120\" alt=\"Casey Hall\" class=\"wp-image-749\" src=\"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/631001d07f5451e753a6e0a6236a878a.avif\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/noscript><\/div><div>Casey Hall<\/div><\/div><div><ul><li><span><div><svg><title>Email<\/title><\/svg><\/div><\/span><\/li><li><span><div><svg><title>X<\/title><\/svg><\/div><\/span><\/li><li><span><div><svg><title>Instagram<\/title><\/svg><\/div><\/span><\/li><li><span><div><svg><title>Linkedin<\/title><\/svg><\/div><\/span><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/address><\/div><\/div><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=747\">AI frenzy stokes inflation heat too<\/a><\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=744\">Startups shore up Ukraine\u2019s defences with sea drone swarms and robot trucks<\/a><\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=742\">In France\u2019s poor, diverse suburbs, Melenchon\u2019s hard left charts a path to the presidency<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On the stone steps leading up Mount Tai, one of China\u2019s best-known peaks, hikers can book and \u200cpay for \u201cclimbing buddies\u201d to walk with them, carry bags and take photos for a few hundred yuan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":748,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[57],"class_list":["post-750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-emerging-markets"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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