2025 or 1625? Diners at new Beijing restaurant ‘time travel’ to ancient China

Women wearing long wigs and ornate traditional dresses mill around a pebbled courtyard, stopping to snap photos under a pavilion, as the melodious strumming of a Chinese zither plays in the background.

These customers have paid to “time travel” back to ancient China for a few hours, in an experience offered by Yan Wai Yan, a new themed restaurant in central Beijing that provides clothing services and an eight-course meal.

While the world’s second-largest economy has been beset by sluggish domestic demand, many young people are still spending on experiences and goods that give them satisfaction – a trend recently dubbed in China as “emotional consumption”.

Consumers born after the 1990s often buy things to “please themselves”, fuelling emotionally charged purchases in the country. Such purchases include Labubu dolls, which have flown off the shelves in China.

“New forms of consumption … [and] new trends” such as the toothy-grinned dolls could help boost China’s economy, commerce minister Wang Wentao said in July.

Before dining, customers at Yan Wai Yan pick out their garments from a room lined with traditional hanfu (Han clothing), headpieces adorned with faux jewels and accessories.