Young people embrace side hustles during Spring Festival

Instead of returning home for family reunions or traveling during the 2024 Spring Festival holiday, some young individuals seized the opportunity to set up side businesses.

For Zhao, a designer born in the 1990s, the Spring Festival was anything but relaxed. On the first morning of the Lunar New Year, he was already at a client's home to feed their cat. After cleaning the litter box, feeding the cat, and sterilizing the area, he took photos to send to the owner. Zhao's day involved visits to 34 homes, not finishing until after 10 p.m.

"Due to the increasing number of pet owners, it's become inconvenient for some to take their pets with them during the Spring Festival," Zhao said. "So, I started getting requests for pet care services in January."

Orders for home pet feeding services skyrocketed between the 28th day of the 12th lunar month in 2023 and the 6th day of the first lunar month in 2024, averaging 30 visits per day. Prices per visit varied from 30 to 50 yuan ($4.20 to $7.00), generating an income of over 10,000 yuan.

Many pet sitters earned more than 10,000 yuan during the Spring Festival holiday. Ke Le, a pet sitter in Shanghai, noted that prices for home pet feeding services increased during the holiday, ranging from 70 to 120 yuan per visit.

In addition to home pet feeding, young individuals are increasingly turning to setting up stalls to earn money. With the Lantern Festival drawing near, selling lanterns has become a popular choice among them.

"I initially tried selling lanterns within my apartment complex but didn't manage to sell any. However, after moving to a good spot at a shopping mall entrance, sales suddenly took off," said Ran Ran from Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province.

Photo shows lanterns made by Ran Ran. (Photo/Cover News)

Before the Spring Festival, Ran set up a lantern stall at the city's Shangdu Archaeological Park. She explained that lanterns, being cultural and creative products, have a selling window extending from New Year's Day to the Lantern Festival.

Ran operated her stall for four days during the Spring Festival holiday, selling a total of 200 lanterns. After accounting for expenses, her daily profit amounted to approximately 1,000 yuan.

The wholesale market in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province, has been identified as a key driver behind the booming lantern sales. Reports indicate that a number of merchants there have sold over 100,000 dragon lanterns.