Rural areas in China see robust development of coffee shops

As China's coffee industry grows, rural areas in the country have seen a robust development of coffee shops.

A report on China's freshly brewed coffee in 2022 released by China's e-commerce platform Meituan said coffee orders in third-tier cities increased nearly two times year on year, while those in fourth- and fifth-tier cities increased by more than 250 percent from the previous year.

A barista makes latte art at the Deep Blue Coffeehouse. (People's Daily Online/Ai Yutao)

On Xiaohongshu, or Little Red Book, China's lifestyle-focused social media platform, there are over 30,000 posts about coffee in rural areas. On China's short-video platform Douyin, videos about the same topic have been played close to 9 million times.

Anji county of Huzhou city, east China's Zhejiang Province has more coffee shops per capita than the eastern Chinese metropolis of Shanghai. Deep Blue Coffeehouse in Hongmiao village of Anji, for example, is located near an abandoned mine pit. Boasting a spectacular view of a blue lake and rocks, it has attracted young people from places neighboring Anji and even farther.

This aerial photo taken on April 7, 2023 shows the Deep Blue Coffeehouse located near an abandoned mine in Hongmiao Village of Anji County in Huzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province. (Xinhua/Weng Xinyang)

The admission ticket for the shop is 68 yuan ($9.62), which includes one cup of coffee. The shop sold 3,000 cups on Jan. 24, 2023, the third day of the Chinese New Year, ranking first nationwide, while a coffee shop in Sanlitun, a popular shopping area in Beijing, only sold 500 cups a day.

Aside from Deep Blue Coffeehouse, Anji is home to many coffee shops with a beautiful view. The coffee shops here have tapped the potential of the enticing landscape of the countryside, integrated elements of local culture, and combined coffee with other consumption scenarios such as "coffee plus homestay hotel" and "coffee plus photography." Some coffee shops not only offer coffee, but also the well-known white tea of Anji.