Everyone’s Saying It: This New Year, There’s No Money and Fewer People”

Years of economic slowdown have left both urban and rural residents in China feeling that there is little hope for the future. (Video screenshot)

[People News] As the Lunar New Year approaches, people across China — rural and urban, northerners and southerners; residents of Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou; young and old, men and women — have been posting videos and photos online asking the same question: It’s already the twelfth lunar month, New Year is almost here. Why does everything feel so deserted? Where are the crowds? Does this even feel like the holidays?

One widely shared video features a blogger interviewing elderly villagers, editing their remarks into a montage, one sentence per person. Here’s what they said:

“Under Communist Party rule, I’ve been a farmer since my teens. I worked my whole life — from having nothing, to still having nothing, to ending up in debt.”

“We suffered so many losses without understanding why. Careful planning only led to a ditch full of debts.”
“We’ve lived meekly for decades. The only things that grow each year are the harvest and our blood pressure. Our poverty, though — that’s been very stable.”

Another villager said:

“They keep shouting about ‘building a new countryside.’ Building what? There’s nobody left! Our village used to have 300 households — now you don’t see a single person on the main road.”

This scene mirrors the mood of many people at the grassroots level. (Video screenshot)

Residents in many regions say this year’s holiday season shows several stark differences compared to previous years:

1. Noticeably fewer people have returned home

2. Migrant workers didn’t earn much money, and many families are financially strained

3. Overall consumer spending power has dropped sharply

On social media, numerous similar videos show sparsely populated northern villages that resemble ghost towns.

Yet official propaganda continues to promote a narrative of “bright prospects,” rolling out policies to stimulate consumption and constantly repeating that “tomorrow will be better.”

One young netizen, speaking calmly to the camera, said:

“They talk about economic prosperity but not the hardships of ordinary people.
They talk about weak consumption but not crushing personal debt.
They talk about average savings but not the wealth gap.
That’s just dodging the real issues. That’s just playing dirty.”

He added: “Before dawn, trash cans get rummaged through eight times, yet they still say the average savings per person is 118,900 yuan. Average for who? How much do I get? Where do I collect it? By the time I get there, the trash cans are already picked clean.”

After entering the twelfth lunar month, markets that have been sluggish all year still have very few customers. (Video screenshot)

What About Beijing?

If rural areas are this bleak, what about Beijing — the political heart of China?

One Beijing netizen said:

“Four types of people in Beijing are close to tears this year.
First, ride-hailing drivers — everyone’s driving now, and there’s no money to be made.
Second, legal wives — even children born to mistresses can now get household registration and inheritance rights.
Third, teachers — birth rates are falling so fast even iron rice bowls aren’t secure anymore.
Fourth, finance workers — once the industry goes online, it becomes a price war. Are you one of these four?”

Another said:

“They say Beijing has over 20 million people, but why do the streets feel so empty? At rush hour near Guomao, you used to be carried by the crowd. Now you could jog. Even the elderly strolling in the hutongs seem fewer. Where did everyone go? Relocated to Tongzhou and Xiong’an? Trapped in office buildings and Universal Studios? The street vibe doesn’t match the statistics.”

Many Beijing residents say life pressure is growing heavier. Forget celebrating New Year — some struggle just to survive.

Beijing also has something unique, they say: an atmosphere of fear. Security checks are everywhere. IDs, bags, phones are repeatedly inspected. Drones are strictly controlled.

One netizen joked darkly:

“Are they afraid drones might film ‘empty streets everywhere’ and leak the state secret that China’s population has dropped by 400–500 million?”

Another claimed:

“In the past five years, Beijing’s population aged 25 to 40 has dropped by about 1.85 million — that’s like losing a mid-sized city.”

Markets Empty, Shops Closed

As the New Year approaches, many major cities show the same scene: most shops are shuttered. (Video screenshot)

Netizens from various cities filmed empty markets and streets filled with “For Rent” signs.

One person said while filming:

“It’s over. Not a single shop left. Total wipeout. Follow my camera — only a few are still holding on. Before, shops here were impossible to get; people pulled strings to secure a spot. Now almost all are closed. It’s bleak.”

A 30-year-old man said anxiously:

“Can anyone give me some advice? I’m really lost. Delivery orders are scarce during the day, and selling sausages at night barely covers living costs. I’m 30 — no car, no house, no savings, still over 100,000 yuan in debt. I haven’t achieved even one of life’s ‘three essentials.’ What’s the point of living like this?”

A woman complained:

“All they do is brag — surpass Apple, surpass Tesla. What’s the use? Why don’t wages surpass? Why don’t benefits surpass? Why don’t layoff compensations surpass? ‘Winning big’ — what’s the use?!”

Another said angrily:

“They even mass-produce mental illness labels. If you dare speak out, they can lock you up and silence you. The scariest thing isn’t madmen — it’s those who label normal people as crazy.”

One netizen wrote:

“I’m saying something nobody likes to hear, including myself: We’re poor and struggling not because of others, but because we’re cowards.”

Unpaid Workers and Despair

Many migrant workers still haven’t received back wages. Unable to go home for the holidays, they remain in cities. By day, they go back to factories to demand pay; authorities ignore them, sometimes sending police to disperse or beat them. At night, they go to sleep hungry under bridges.

Some say these hardships have led people to conclude that the Communist Party is the root cause of the suffering. Some have used tools to bypass internet controls and posted statements overseas renouncing membership in Party-affiliated organizations.

Several individuals posting such renunciations said they had lost faith in the system after repeated injustices, corruption, and repression.△