24-hour news update Page 49

Like many bad ideas from men, it all started with a drunken chat between buddies.

In 1994, a group of Irish guys gathered in a pub in Northern Ireland to celebrate the upcoming marriage of Colin Cather. They exchanged cups and cups and hugged each other. As much as I drank, I said as many words as possible: "Brother, I love you!"

The scene is quite "anxious"…

(schematic diagram)

At breakfast the next day, everyone was hungover and suffering from splitting headaches. They sat together, disheveled, reflecting on the madness of the previous night.

Colin, 26, looked around. These were his best friends.

He has a family, and soon they will too. Colin suddenly lamented at the dinner table. He hoped that everyone could see each other more often in the future, but the adult world has many more responsibilities, and everyone has more responsibilities than they can control.

"How about we have a fake bachelor party every year?" 25-year-old Chris Patterson joked.

Everyone at the table also laughed. But the more they talked, the more they felt that this idea was reliable. It only happened once a year anyway, so why not work hard?

Someone proposed an annual trip using the alphabet as a framework – Aberdeen, Brighton, Caen, Düsseldorf, Eastbourne… all the way up to the 'Z'.

is a good idea.

When Chris returned to London, he designed a special set of invitations inspired by the London A-to-Z map guide. Not everyone had email at that time, so he mailed the letters one by one.

A year later, on June 10, 1996, six people gathered in the Scottish city of Aberdeen. Five of them had served in the British Army, three had known each other since primary school, and this group of closest friends founded the "A to Z Club" here.

"A to Z runs through most of our lives," said Graham Dunlop, 54, a civil servant in Belfast. “It remains constant and is a constant for us outside of our families and partners.”

On that distant night in Aberdeen, they drew up the charter on a menu and solemnly signed it in ink:

Club activities run from Friday to Sunday (sometimes extended to Monday in recent years), with a formal dinner on Saturday, where formal attire and black tie are required.

The club implements a closed membership system and does not accept outsiders.

The chairmanship should be rotated, and the gathering location should be neutral, accessible, and affordable.

During the party, everyone stayed in the same hotel (later they would also rent together after Airbnb became available).

(1997, A to Z Club, Caen, France)

This event program (menu) is still hanging on the wall of Chris’s home.

"If you just read this charter, you will definitely feel that we are not the same people at all," said Brian McKenna, 57, who works in the government in Northern Ireland. "We are not actually particularly like-minded partners. But we have a lot of common experiences and understand each other's values, so we can get along."

This club activity lasted for 30 years.

During each event, they would do a relatively "tourist" thing in the local area: such as visiting the Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain, watching the Yankees game in New York, and visiting the World War I front lines in Ypres, Belgium.

The rest of the time, they wandered from cafes to bars, drinking, bragging, and enjoying their vacation as they pleased.

"This is a very accidental trip," said Chris, 55, who has retired and lives in Manhattan. "We don't specifically go to see attractions. We prefer to wander around and discover something unexpectedly."

For example, in Jerez, Spain, a few of them once wore tuxedos and accidentally broke into a private party in a castle.

(2023, A to Z Club, Xàbia, Spain)

Of course, their journey isn't always smooth.

The epidemic ruined several gatherings, and some people were absent due to some special circumstances. For example, in 2016, a member was sent to South Korea. There are also financial pressures, and sometimes they have no choice but to choose the UK instead of exotic places in Europe. They went to Brighton, Falmouth, and Virginia, a small village in Ireland, which turned out to be pretty boring.

The year he went to Warsaw, Brian suffered an aortic dissection and was unable to participate.

The year he went to Madrid, Mike Murdoch missed out because of meningitis.

"I heard that meningitis is not as fun as in Madrid," he said with a wry smile.

Accidents aside, the relationship has had its ups and downs. Colin, 57, remembers questioning the entire activity when he was about halfway through the alphabet.

At that time he left Northern Ireland and built a new life with his wife and children in Oxford, England.

He formed a band, made new friends, and was busy with work. To him at the time, the A to Z weekend trip was more like a time capsule buried underground that he wasn't sure he wanted to open yet.

"I told my wife at the time, 'I'm not sure I want to continue because it feels a little out of touch with reality,'" he recalled. "I love these guys, but are we just being nostalgic and remembering the past? I'm not one to look back."

The next party was in New York, and this time, everything was different. This group of older boys no longer just teased and undermined each other, but actually started talking about topics that men are not usually encouraged to talk about.

In the past, they were unwilling to expose their vulnerable sides, but now they candidly talk about marital crises, career bottlenecks, parenting problems, mental health, empty nests, parents' illness… The shell of being aggressive has gradually faded away.

“Some of the one-on-one conversations, it’s more real,” Colin said. "There were probably still tears shed. We finally broke that time capsule."

He said: "You can never make new old friends again. It is important to have a background, a common experience, and a long-term companionship. But the experience of today is equally important, not just the stories of the past."

Chris was also surprised by the transformation.

"Before, no one wanted to show weakness because people were always ready to laugh at you. But now if someone says, 'Something happened at work,' or 'I've been having a hard time,' we all empathize, and others open up."

Of course, the mutual damage is still fierce, but now this kind of "abuse" is wrapped in deep feelings.

(2024, A to Z Club, World War I battlefield in Ypres, Belgium)

Today, A to Z Club is something of a legend in some circles. Some people want to join, and some are even willing to fully sponsor everyone to travel together, just to be able to participate. But all six refused.

Four of the six live within half an hour's drive of Belfast, and they meet individually a few times a year. Chris occasionally flies over from New York. But the most important thing is the annual gathering.

"It's like one of those carnivals that happens once a year," said Neil Hughes, 56, who lives outside Belfast. "It's very precious to me."

(Chris on the left, Neil on the right)

Thirty years after they began their journey, last September they finally completed the last stop of the entire alphabet – Zaragoza in northeastern Spain.

They stayed at a B&B, but accidentally happened upon a Star Wars festival, where they sang Irish songs in a local bar until two in the morning. This weekend perfectly echoes that night in 1994: Club A to Z began with Colin's bachelor party and ended with his divorce.

At the end of the party, they had to face a new problem: the alphabet was over, what to do next?

They discussed selecting cities by the last letter instead, or catching up on missed locations, and they also considered selecting by country instead. Chris suggested having some sort of wine or food theme for the future.

Eventually, they decided to start the alphabet all over again. Of course, they knew tacitly that no one would be able to reach Z completely the second time.

But no one cares because it’s not the destination that attracts them, it’s each other.

"Chill 1994", the first prequel in the "Cold War" series, held a press conference today (18/3). New cast members Liu Junqian, Tse Junhao, Wang Danni, and director Liang Leming were all present. One of the protagonists of the series, Tony Leung Ka Fai, also made his final appearance. In addition, Ji Zhao also announced the 12 important actors in the film. In addition to the 4 present, the others include Chow Yun-fat, Aaron Kwok, Louis Koo, Daniel Wu, Tse Kwan-ho, Wu Kangren, Liu Ziyu, Dani Wang, and two British heavyweight actors, Aidan Gillen from "Game of Thrones" and Hugh Bonneville from "Downton Abbey", who will play important members of the colonial government.

(Photo by Chen Shunzhen)

Director Liang Leman said frankly that he would like to thank Boss Jiang for making his dream come true: "The boss asked me to come up with a good lineup, and he will try his best to cooperate with me." (Photo by Chen Shunzhen)

Regarding the new work having such a shocking cast, director Liang Lok Man said frankly that he would like to thank Boss Jiang for making his dream come true: "Thank you boss first. I am responsible for the creation. During the preparations, the boss asked me to come up with a good lineup. He will try his best to cooperate with me." As for finding Louis Koo to play the role of the chief executive, The directors all expressed their gratitude: "When everyone sees the feature film, you will feel as if you will know that we write tight roles. I told Gu Sheng that since you are playing the biggest man in Hong Kong, you should know a little bit about acting. He trusts us so much that he can let us change our hair, add some beards, and change glasses."

Tse Kwan-ho, who played the role of the richest man in a prominent Hong Kong family, revealed that he spent three hours a day on makeup for his role. (Photo by Chen Shunzhen)

Tse Junhao said that this old makeup requires a total of 11 accessories. "It feels like wearing a mask." ("Cold War 1994" character poster)

As for Tse Kwan-ho, who played the role of the richest man in a prominent Hong Kong family in the film, he revealed that he spent three hours a day putting on aging makeup for his role. "There were a total of 11 accessories required for the scene. It felt like wearing a mask. I didn't get used to it at first and couldn't get the expressions I wanted, but after one or two days of filming I got used to it. The director said that you finally got the job done." Another challenge for Brother Junhao is to work with Hugh Bonneville Bonneville), who spoke English: "It's actually only two sentences, but I practiced very patiently and found an English teacher to teach me, so I passed the test by luck."

Wang Danni, who plays the club's new talker in the film, described the filming of "Cold War 1994" as having many firsts. "You have to fight with a lot of people, for many days in a row, and there are gun scenes, so you need to receive firearms training beforehand." In order to play the role of the club's big sister, the director asked Dani to be calmer: "Stop emotional ups and downs, and be more powerful!"

Wang Danni, who played the club's new talker in "Cold War 1994", said there were many firsts during the filming. (Photo by Chen Shunzhen)

Recently, the "Forty Forum on Chinese Political Economy·2026" was held at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. Experts and scholars from universities and academic institutions across the country gathered together to share the latest insights into contemporary Chinese political economics from multiple perspectives.

The "Forty People Forum on Chinese Political Economy" was established in 2018 and has been successfully held for seven sessions so far. This forum is co-sponsored by the Institute of Economics of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences and the China Political Economics Annual Conference, and hosted by the Political Economics Research Office of the Institute of Economics of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.

"Shenzhen Bao'an to Shanghai Hongqiao is likely to become the busiest route this year." Based on a case study of industrial cooperation between the Yangtze River Delta and the Greater Bay Area, Tang Jie, a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen), found that the cross-regional industrial logic has shifted from "final product sales" to "intermediate product division of labor and collaboration," forming an inter-embedded "R&D-manufacturing" network. He took BYD as an example. This car company founded in Shenzhen has made full use of the industrial chain advantages of the Pearl River Delta and the Yangtze River Delta, connecting the industrial chain and innovation chain collaboration of many cities and companies. While promoting the improvement of the Yangtze River Delta's new energy vehicle manufacturing capabilities, it has accelerated Shenzhen's more specialized production and research and development, and has achieved world leadership in the research and development and application of core components represented by electric drives, batteries and electronic controls, as well as intelligent driving technology. "Building a unified national market not only requires unblocking logistics, eliminating barriers, and reducing trade costs, but also improving regional specialization efficiency to cross the threshold of division of labor. In the future, we should rely on standard co-construction and platform diffusion to promote the industry from 'selling to the whole country' to 'chain to the whole country,' and achieve a win-win situation in the deep division of labor." Tang Jie said.

How much can a newly formed idea and a newly established studio be worth? At the 4th "Cultural and Creative Shanghai" Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition launched on March 20, the answer may be: golden ideas are valued more than current profit figures.

This competition is based on the core concept of "breaking circles and integrating". One of the highlights is that "only an upper limit is set, but no lower limit" for participating companies – whether you are a fledgling individual creator or a passionate college student entrepreneurial team, as long as you have a good idea, the competition is the stage. "This move is aimed at making the event more grounded and providing more opportunities for start-ups and new projects to be seen," explained Zhou Jiaxian, deputy secretary-general of the Shanghai Cultural and Creative Industries Promotion Association. To this end, the competition specially introduces experts from investment banking institutions as judges, focusing on the "new content" of the project. On this platform, "potential stocks" are more valuable than "blue chip stocks".

Since the first event in 2023, the "Cultural and Creative Shanghai" competition has attracted more than 3,200 companies to register, and has unearthed a number of high-quality companies such as Huying Technology, Active Culture, and Xiwu Culture, and has become an innovation incubator and talent pool for Shanghai's cultural and creative industry. This competition has been fully upgraded, closely following the new trends in the industry, and exploring new tracks such as "Internet high-quality content creation +", "game development +" and "digital advertising +". The competition pioneered the "one district, one competition, one district, one characteristic" model, setting up ten vertical tracks around the key industrial directions of each district, so that each track has exclusive industrial resources and policy support, and achieves "project selection and district-level needs resonate at the same frequency."

This feature is most vividly reflected in specific tracks. For example, the "Cultural Performing Arts +" track hosted by Huangpu District is committed to promoting the reshaping of the boundaries of the performing arts industry. "In the competition, we are soliciting not just a project, but all the creative possibilities that can connect the performing arts." said Kang Qi, director of the Shanghai Performing Arts World Service Center. "We will give it full life cycle support from germination to growth." The "Music Innovation+" track hosted in Hongkou District extensively explores the diverse integration of music and audio technology, self-cultivation and healing, AI applications and other fields. A "Music Innovation Achievements Exhibition" will be held in the final stage to present a number of high-quality projects.

It is reported that the competition has built a resource link platform covering the entire cycle before, during and after the competition, and provides full chain support for participating projects through a series of activities such as "Promotion Meeting + Venture Capital Exchange + Private Board Meeting". Winning companies will also enjoy ten exclusive services such as policy application, talent subsidies, incubation, and achievement display, and receive all-dimensional development empowerment from golden ideas to good projects.

【Macroeconomics and Policy】

Revenue from state-owned land sales in the first two months fell 25.2% year-on-year

On March 19, the fiscal revenue and expenditure for January to February 2026 released by the Ministry of Finance showed that from January to February, the national government fund budget revenue was 536.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 16%. Looking at the central and local governments, the budget revenue of central government funds was 86.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.7%; the budget revenue of local government funds was 450.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 19.2%, of which revenue from the transfer of state-owned land use rights was 354.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 25.2%. (China News Service)

Oil prices may return to the era of 9 yuan

At 24:00 on March 23, domestic refined oil prices will undergo the sixth round of adjustments, and the increase in No. 92 gasoline is expected to exceed 1.6 yuan/liter again. At present, international oil prices are still significantly higher than the average price during the cycle. According to industry analysts, if international oil prices do not fall significantly, domestic oil prices are expected to continue to increase. Some experts estimate that if the final increase is estimated at about 2,000 yuan/ton, it will be equivalent to an increase of 1.60 yuan, 1.69 yuan, and 1.7 yuan per liter for 92 gasoline, 95 gasoline, and 0 diesel respectively. The price of No. 92 gasoline in Beijing and Shanghai has reached 7.6 yuan/liter. Based on this estimate, the increase in oil prices on March 24 may directly drive domestic oil prices back to the "9 yuan era." (China-Singapore Jingwei)

The National Bureau of Statistics releases unemployment rate data by age group in February 2026

On March 19, the National Bureau of Statistics released unemployment rate data by age group in February 2026. In February, the unemployment rate of the 16-24-year-old labor force in urban areas nationwide was 16.1%, the unemployment rate of the 25-29-year-old labor force, excluding school students, was 7.2%, and the unemployment rate of the 30-59-year-old labor force, excluding school students, was 4.2%. (Interface News)

Bypassing Hormuz paid off! Saudi oil exports recover by more than half

With the Strait of Hormuz nearly closed, Saudi Arabia is rerouting oil to the western port of Yanbu through a 1,200-kilometer (746-mile) pipeline known as the East-West Pipeline. The port is located on the coast of the Red Sea. At the same time, Saudi Arabia quickly assembled a large fleet of oil tankers, which sailed to the Red Sea to load crude oil and are now gathering around the port. According to ship tracking data compiled by the media, the average daily export volume of Yanbu Port over the past five days was about 4.19 million barrels. This already accounts for a large portion of Saudi Arabia's total pre-war exports (about 7 million barrels) and is much higher than the approximately 1.4 million barrels per day previously shipped through the port. Notably, Saudi Arabia is the only oil producer with a reliable alternative route. (Financial Associated Press)

【Industry/Company Data】

The price of gold once plummeted nearly 4%! Why do safe-haven assets fail?

Against the backdrop of the Fed's inaction and ongoing geopolitical conflicts, the price of gold plunged nearly 4% overnight. On the evening of March 18, London spot gold fell below the US$4,900 mark. It fell nearly 4% during the session, hitting a low of around US$4,803 per ounce. As of press time, it has rebounded to US$4841.795 per ounce, up 0.59%. COMEX gold was quoted at $4,840.1 per ounce, down 1.15%. Market views believe that the geopolitical risk aversion support brought about by the Iran conflict strongly offsets the strength of the US dollar and the Fed's tightening expectations, and the gold market has fallen into a rare long-short strangulation pattern. Despite the short-term pressure, most market views still believe that the mid- to long-term trend of the gold market is expected to be positive. (The Paper)

Memory chip price increases are sweeping across the industry chain, and a new round of cost testing has arrived

On March 18, cloud vendors such as Alibaba Cloud and Baidu Smart Cloud simultaneously raised the prices of AI computing power and storage products, with the highest increase reaching 34%. Since the second half of 2025, global memory chips have entered a new round of price increase cycle, and now its chain reaction is continuing to ferment. Recently, OPPO and vivo announced price increases for mobile phones. According to a report by Xinhua News Agency on March 18, South Korea's Samsung Electronics may undergo a large-scale strike, which will add pressure to the already tight supply and demand of storage products. Industry insiders said that memory chip prices will remain strong from 2026 to 2027, and the entire industry chain is facing a new round of cost tests. (China Securities News)

In 2025, battery company profits will exceed the combined profits of 13 car companies

On March 17, Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the Passenger Car Association, said when talking about the current profit situation of China's automobile industry that the profits of vehicle companies are currently being squeezed significantly by battery companies. He cited last year's Fortune 500 data, which showed that Chinese car companies on the list achieved profits of US$14.7 billion, of which CATL alone accounted for US$7.1 billion. He also said that vehicle companies other than batteries only accounted for more than ten percent of profits. He bluntly called the situation "horrible" and said that "there is basically no money." According to media statistics, 13 A-share listed vehicle companies have released performance forecasts or performance reports for 2025. CATL's net profit in 2025 has exceeded the total profits of these 13 car companies. (Interface News)

【City Trends】

Jiangsu’s permanent population shows negative growth

According to the 2025 Jiangsu Province National Economic and Social Development Statistical Bulletin, the province's permanent population at the end of 2025 was 85.18 million. The annual birth rate was 4.2‰, the death rate was 7.8‰, and the natural population growth rate was -3.6‰. Judging from historical data, after the first zero growth of the permanent population in 2024, Jiangsu ushered in the first negative growth of the permanent population in the new century in 2025. (comprehensive)

Zhejiang’s “Special Window for Things That Can’t Be Done” is praised by netizens

Recently, some netizens posted a picture of a service window in Zhejiang. The name of the window is "Dedicated Window for Unable to Get Things Done", but it was collectively liked by netizens. The reporter learned that this window is a "cover-up" service that mainly accepts "difficult and miscellaneous" matters that have not been completed due to policies, historical legacy and other reasons in public security government services, as well as due to system acceptance, material declaration, service procedures, etc. It is understood that since its establishment in May 2018, the window has successfully resolved 3,914 cases of "difficult and difficult diseases" for individuals and enterprises, benefiting more than 8,000 people. (Yue Niu News)

According to foreign trade data at the beginning of the year, Shaanxi’s growth rate leads the country

On March 18, the General Administration of Customs released the latest foreign trade data. In the first two months of this year, the total import and export value of Shaanxi was 121.14 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 69%. The growth rate ranked first in the country and was 50.7 percentage points higher than the national import and export growth rate. Among them, exports were 92.48 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 85.2%; imports were 28.66 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 31.9%. During the same period, the trade surplus was 63.82 billion yuan. (comprehensive)

【Health Tips】

Negative words make you more irritable the more you say them.

In the current era of "mourning culture", you feel relieved after saying many self-deprecating words, and you think it's over. But the latest research in cognitive neuroscience and linguistics believes that language is not just a mirror of emotions, it is also a sculptor of emotions. The human body has a system called the "hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis" (HPA axis), which is the body's central stress system. A 2023 review in "Frontiers in Psychiatry" pointed out that negative self-talk can lead to chronic inflammation through continued activation of the HPA axis. This pathway is highly overlapping with the mechanisms of long-term lack of exercise and long-term sleep deprivation. Not only that, the brain's nerves also have the characteristic of "getting darker as they are drawn" – the more frequently a certain neural circuit is triggered, the more stable it will be and the easier it will be triggered. Suppose you say "I'm so annoyed" 20 times a day. Over the course of a year, your brain will have established a barrier-free highway between "I'm annoyed (language) → irritable (causing emotion)".

Researchers suggest: Starting today, stop saying "I'm so bored"; try saying: "This is kind of interesting." (Popular Science China)

At first I had high hopes for Zhou Ye's "Hello 1983".

Judging from past experience, most of the dramas that dare to be named directly after the era have two brushes, and they often have both humanities and epics.

But when I saw that this drama was adapted from "Rebirth xxxxx", my eyes darkened. Why is it still going this way? My high hopes for it turned into low hopes.

After watching several episodes, my brows became more and more furrowed, and I couldn't even get rid of them.

This "Hello 1983", which I had high hopes for, was not just about the same, it was completely different. It was so bad that it was a mess.

We can’t even talk about the actors. From the director to the screenwriter, this show is fundamentally flawed.

Talking about the perception, objectively speaking, the director made the short play as a long play.

In the first three minutes, after a few chicken soup narrations that my mother found too corny to repost, the heroine travels through time.

If you don't count these few sentences, the heroine's time travel may have happened less than a minute after the beginning of the story.

On New Year's Day, 2026, the heroine fell asleep on the sofa, dropped the alarm clock, and arrived in 1983.

There is no foreshadowing, no emotion, no transition, just wear it as soon as it comes up. This is too short a play. But the problem is that this drama is not short, it is 36 episodes long. The pace of the opening chapter is so fast, it's hard for me not to wonder how much water will be poured into it later.

After watching eight episodes, the overall impression is even worse.

The advancement of the story is completely based on the copy mode.

First fight a boss who is a bad gangster, and then fight a boss who is a bad relative. The connection part in the middle is just confusing, the integrity is very poor, and the look and feel is quite stiff.

Let’s talk about the stinky gangster first.

The repeated gangster trouble scenes in the show are so awkward to watch.

The roots lie in the year of the work, 1983.

Crack down hard. There will be no cap on the progress, and it will be done in a serious and fast manner. How cruel? Severe crackdowns began in August, and in September Zhu De's grandson was sentenced to death. It is so powerful and shocking that you can see a leopard in the pipe.

Judging from the scenery in the first episode, the golden rice waiting to be harvested, the continuous shallow mountains and hills, the deep green forest, and the spicy spicy soup for breakfast, it is easy to infer that the story should take place in southern Henan, Xinyang and Nanyang. The rice areas in southern Henan are all single-season japonica rice. Judging from the state of the rice, the period in the drama should be around September.

In other words, the story takes place at the beginning of the crackdown, when the wind is the strongest and the shock is strongest, and committing crimes against the wind is the peak period of maximum sentencing.

But what about in the show? The plot of gangster trouble is so dense that it is unreasonable.

There are people in mountain villages who stop people from teasing them, people in county towns who cause trouble in public, people who kidnap women on the train, they are besieged by gangsters as soon as they leave the train station, gangsters who open a women's clothing store block the door and molest women customers in the street…

Not to mention that after the launch of the crackdown, such gangsters who humiliated women in public were the number one target. Once caught, they were basically dealt with sternly and quickly. The overwhelming publicity about public sentencing and arrests in the streets at that time were enough to make people with evil intentions dare not show their faces. It is absolutely impossible for such absurd scenes of crimes to be committed everywhere.

I have nothing against bad guys in the show, there is crime in any age.

But from a creative perspective, what is the core plot of this drama? Personal struggle under the tide of the times.

You're not into a crime genre that focuses on hard-hitting, right? Why do we repeatedly use this kind of gangster plot that does not conform to historical points to create conflicts?

Firstly, it adds nothing to the main narrative, and secondly, wouldn’t this kind of bloody plot that forcibly subdues intelligence in order to create conflict greatly affect the viewing experience?

I have a lot of flaws and love to pay attention to details, so this is just my fault. But the further you read, the more flaws "Hello 1983" has.

Among them, the most core, most prominent, and most intolerable shortcoming is the characterization.

That's called flat, that's called typical. Good people are flawlessly good, and bad people are completely bad. There is no trace of human complexity.

Let me leave it at that, a long drama with characters of this level is simply smearing the entire industry.

Look at these people in the show. Do they look like real people?

Aunt, uncle, third aunt, third uncle, grandma, cousin, cousin, these gangs of relatives and villains, are they any different from each other in bad ways?

Especially that cousin, if you want me to say that since you are here, why not give her some decent roles? Based on what has been revealed so far, this girl looks like a child with an intellectual disability. Is this kind of character really necessary?

Bad people are like this, good people are the same.

Uncles, aunts, younger brothers, including the principal who speaks up for the heroine, and neighbors, are these good people any different? Everyone is like a living Bodhisattva, a good and good old man.

The supporting roles are like this, but the protagonist remains the same.

The heroine Xia Xiaolan, played by Zhou Ye, is the most robotic character in the show.

This character has no mood swings from beginning to end. He is always calm, always rational, and always at ease.

After traveling through time, I am not surprised, I am not flustered when I face gangsters, I am not polite when I face green tea, even if my college entrance examination is tomorrow but my hand is broken by a bone fracture today, I am still there.

The most direct impact of such a creation is that when such a "god"-like character announces that he wants to fall in love with the male protagonist, the sense of disobedience and weirdness immediately hits his nose.

It gives the impression that you also have emotions and desires? The male protagonist doesn't act like an equal lover in front of her, he doesn't even act like an equal. It's like she petted a cute puppy out of kindness.

How can people believe that this is love?

So far in the whole drama, the only character with a bit of a human touch is Liu Fen, the mother of the heroine played by Dong Xuan. From being submissive at the beginning, to gradually becoming brave and confident, and finally daring to stand up in public and saying that he wanted a divorce, he is the only character in the show who has a complete growth arc.

But this is the only character that can be seen, and the design also has flaws.

When her daughter got first place in the exam, the principal invited her to speak on stage. This was the first time that the mother stood in front of others as a "winner", and her daughter continued to encourage her to be confident in the audience.

I thought that this character's highlight moment would come, but it turned out that the director directly shot everything, and when it was over, he only relied on a sideline line from someone else, "Not only is your daughter amazing, but your mother is also amazing. I was moved by what you said."

The audience doesn't deserve to see the highlight, but they deserve to hear others say "She has the highlight", right?

The character creation is a mess, and the logic of plot advancement is even worse.

I only want to mention one thing, about the heroine wanting to go back to modern times.

The series has been interspersed with foreshadowing. The heroine's modern life is purely a history of suffering.

Her parents died in a car accident when she was a child, and she had to live with others and suffered a lot of grievances. She finally made it to adulthood and entered the workplace. People said that she had done something unfair when she made great achievements. Before she traveled through time, her boss gave her a huge blame, waiting for her to take the blame.

With such a terrible life, why did she have the obsession "I must go back" after traveling through time?

Throughout the whole process, the heroine is not given any reason that is enough to support her return to modern times. There is no family member who cannot let go, no obsession that must be completed, no bright future worth running for, and not even a tiny concern.

Not to mention that there was no legitimate reason, even if it was a nonsensical excuse for her to arrange a gas stove with bacon trotters stewed on it and not turn off the heat, the screenwriter must have used her brain, right?

You are so focused on "I have to go back", why do you have to go back, I mean, girl?

I'm confused.

The character motivations are not mentioned, the historical logic is not, and the emotional ups and downs are not.

The heroine cheats all the way, all the staff are tools, gangsters are everywhere, and the plot is all based on improvisation.

This is "Hello 1983".

A strict crackdown is not scary, gangsters are not afraid of death, everyone is on the same page, and the protagonist has no emotions, just looking forward to returning to hell to suffer in 1983.

So cool.

As we all know, genetic inheritance is a metaphysics, but to what extent can it be mysterious? Just look at the second generation stars in the entertainment industry.

For example, Brigitte Lin and Li Jiaxin were both recognized for their good looks when they were young, but after marrying ordinary-looking rich husbands, their children's appearance is completely out of control.

Brigitte Lin's daughter has no resemblance to her at all. She looks like a wealthy husband between her eyebrows and eyes.

And Michelle Reis' son is not even up to the level of appearance of his father Xu Jinheng.

Another example is the son of Jiang Qinqin and Chen Jianbin. Looking at the couple's looks alone, Jiang Qinqin played roles such as Xi Shi when he was young. The beautiful embryo is a fairy in Chen Jianbin's words.

After seeing the fairy's genes, his son didn't even have a sense of participation, and was completely held back by Chen Jianbin.

Of course, there are also new second generations who perfectly inherit the beauty of their parents and are even better than them. For example, Huang Duoduo shared beautiful photos on social platforms to bid farewell to 2024, which completely amazed me.

1. Full of star flavor and rich literary and artistic atmosphere

When I was a child, Duoduo participated in variety shows with her father Huang Lei, and she was a beauty.

She inherited Huang Lei's big eyes, and her nose and mouth are more like her mother, Sun Li.

As she gets older, Duoduo becomes more beautiful. Although she is highly recognizable, she still has a childlike innocence.

But now that 18-year-old Duoduo is in a completely different world.

In the beautiful photos she shared, she was wearing a red knitted long skirt and a black vest. When she bent over to face the camera, she had a standard oval face and a pair of smart and lively eyes.

With bright and retro high-end makeup, even the mole under the eye is a bit more charming and charming.

As for Duoduo in the side shot, it's hard to tell. From body shape to temperament, she looks very much like her mother Sun Li, especially the cold feeling, which she completely inherited from Sun Li.

In the frontal shot, Duoduo is so thin that it makes people feel a little distressed. Because the design of the skirt is very figure-flattering, and the shoulder and neck lines are exposed, Duoduo's figure looks a bit skinny.

The protruding collarbone and bony shoulders are enough to prove that Duoduo's weight is not only in double digits, but may even be around 80 pounds.

Despite being thin, Duoduo is in good spirits, with bright eyes and a gentle smile. Because of her more mature dress, she still has a bit of a cool girl feel.

The other look looks more mature, with a tight black swimsuit paired with black swimming trunks, showing off her slender limbs and small waist, wearing cool sunglasses and oversized earrings.

This kind of Duoduo doesn't look like an 18-year-old, but more like a 28-year-old, much more mature than his peers.

However, in the face-fighting shots, you can feel that Duo Duo has a very artistic temperament, with a feeling of pure desire but very broken, especially his eyes, which are affectionate but also a little innocent, which makes me feel pity for him.

When she faced the camera with the corners of her mouth raised slightly, she seemed to be watching the heroine in an art film. This face was so starry.

In the photo with her mother, although one has a bun and the other has her hair loose, their eyebrows and eyes are almost exactly the same, and even the curve of their mouths when they smile looks like they were copied and pasted.

18-year-old Duoduo, like her mother, suffered from a lifelong misunderstanding.

In addition, Duoduo also shared her daily life with animals and family members. As a big sister, she read comics to her younger sister and younger brother. The picture was very warm.

Duoduo takes care of the children, which makes people return to "Where Are We Going, Dad" again.

When getting along with small animals, you can also feel a lot of tenderness. Gently touching an elephant, or leaning over to touch its trunk, it is completely kind and lovely.

Duoduo before studying abroad and after studying abroad gave people a different feeling. He was more confident and relaxed, and he seemed to have achieved self-consistency.

I wonder if Duoduo will enter the entertainment industry after returning to China. But what is certain is that with such good condition and good looks, he can definitely make a name for himself in the entertainment industry.

Second, the young are better than the blue. The second generation of these stars is too long.

In fact, there are many second-generation celebrities like Duoduo in the entertainment industry who have perfectly inherited good genes.

The first place is Wang Shiling.

When Wang Shiling was a child, her good looks may have nothing to do with her, but when she grew up, she lost her baby fat and became a real little princess.

It can be seen from her appearance that Wang Shiling took advantage of her parents' advantages. She inherited Li Xiang's eyes and Wang Yuelun's high nose.

His appearance is sharper than that of Li Xiang, but he doesn't look too gentle because he looks too much like Wang Yuelun, which is just right.

The second place is Shao Ziheng.

Shao Bing's tough-guy aura did not affect his son Shao Ziheng's appearance. On the contrary, because his wife was pretty enough, Shao Ziheng inherited his mother's appearance advantages.

She has fair skin and is very refreshing. She has a sunny and youthful look in front of the camera. Although she is an idol trainee, she is not a feminine one. Her temperament is more strong and soft.

This kind of appearance can even compare with the four returning sons.

Third place, Dingding.

It is undeniable that Pan Yueming and Dong Jie are both very good-looking, but Dingding does not choose one person's facial features to grow, but is better-looking than their parents.

When he was young, Ding Ding was soft and cute, but when he grew up, Ding Ding had a more melancholy Japanese beauty temperament. Every time he appeared under Dong Jie's lens, people couldn't help but sigh. Today's Ding Ding is already as handsome as the hero of a novel.

The fourth place is Shen Yue.

Qiu Shuzhen's daughter is also very mature. Although she has no plans to enter the industry at the moment, she has recently appeared in the public eye, and it is always easy for people to see the shadow of Qiu Shuzhen in her facial features.

The same big eyes, the same strong nose bridge, the same small mouth, even the face shape is so delicate. Being able to recreate Qiu Shuzhen's look means that her genes have favored her very much.

Conclusion

Unknowingly, the second generation of stars have all grown up.

I always feel that they are still the young children in my impression. In fact, most of them have already become tall and graceful girls like Duoduo.

And these second-generation stars have decided their future development direction at a young age. Some decide to enter the entertainment industry, some take the boy band route, and some choose fields that are completely different from their parents.

But one thing they have in common is that almost all of these second-generation stars are excellent. In another 10 years, I believe their world will be even broader.

Do you think Huang Duoduo has changed a lot?

On March 18, Shanghai Deyun Club officially opened and had its premiere that night. Fans from all over the country rushed to the scene. The Paper reporter Peng Youqi and Chen Yue editor He Yuqian (01:41)

On March 18, Shanghai Deyunshe Theater opened on the second floor of the People's Theater on Sichuan North Road, Hongkou District. It had its premiere that night, with Guo Degang and Yu Qian making the finale.

"Starting today, Deyun Club has its own small theater in Shanghai. From now on, we will come and go often and perform cross talk here every day." At the press conference that afternoon, Guo Degang expressed emotion that after almost 20 years of performing in Shanghai, Deyun Club finally settled in Shanghai.

On that day, flower baskets were placed at the entrance of the People's Theater, and many cultural and creative and catering stalls were set up on the first floor, which was bustling with customers. There are "cross talk fans" who come from all over the world to meet and wait at the door at 9 o'clock in the morning; there are also local middle-aged and elderly people who come to check in and take photos. Although many people did not get tickets, they were excited to see their favorite actors and feel the atmosphere.

When northern crosstalk comes to Shanghai, will it be acclimated? Two or three years ago, after the news came out that Deyunshe would settle in Shanghai, this issue was frequently raised.

In this regard, Guo Degang seemed confident, "In the past 20 years, we have been doing almost all the large-scale crosstalk commercial performances in Shanghai, and we know this land very well. When it comes to crosstalk commercial performances, so many places in China are ranked, and Shanghai is among the top two. The audience is of high quality and loves to listen to crosstalk."

"Deyun Club has finally opened in Shanghai. I am very happy. This is the first one. There may be a second and third one in the future." In his view, Shanghai is a very tolerant city. All kinds of cultural performances can find their own audiences, and cross talk is no exception. In previous performances in stadiums with tens of thousands of people, the tickets were basically sold out, so there is no need to worry about small theaters with more than 300 people.

On March 18, Shanghai Deyunshe Theater opened at the People’s Theater on Sichuan North Road, Hongkou District. The pictures in this article are all by The Paper reporter Chen Yuetu

I like cross talk, everyone has a reason

"We were waiting at the door at 9 o'clock this morning. We had been pouring in the rain all afternoon and didn't wait. Then we came in to take shelter from the rain and happened to meet Qin Xiaoxian and He Jiuhua going downstairs to buy things. We were so lucky!" "We also saw the moment when the Deyun Society plaque was taken off." On the afternoon of the 18th, four girls in their 20s excitedly shared what they had seen that day.

They are from Shaanxi, Fujian, Hubei, and Beijing respectively. They got to know each other during offline performances. Although they like different actors, they got along well and made an appointment to come to Shanghai to watch the show together.

Mu Xuan is from Beijing and has been obsessed with cross talk since 2022, especially Qin Xiaoxian. "He says less now. Once the show comes out, I know it's hard to get tickets for this lineup. Beijing is far away, so I just want to give it a try and come if I can get it. If I can't get it, forget it." She said that she came to Shanghai just for this show. "Crosstalk is a traditional art. In fact, I only fell in love with crosstalk after getting to know Qin Xiaoxian. I hope this art will be passed down and seen by more people."

"At first, I really liked Meng Hetang because they were handsome. Later, I heard their cross talk was very interesting, so I fell in love with them." "They are both very hardworking people. I have watched them become better and I have liked them for five years." Yaoyao and Linlin are both fans of Meng Hetang and Zhou Jiuliang, and follow almost every performance they perform.

"I really like Guo Degang, Xiao Yueyue, and Guo Qilin. They say cross talk is very humorous." Aunt Mao, a retired worker, came from Baoshan in the rain. "The Mandarin they speak has a transliteration, which is very nice, unlike us Shanghainese who speak Mandarin in a rigid manner. Besides, Guo Degang speaks very smoothly, and it is comfortable to listen to him."

Ms. Chen, who works nearby, watched the opening ribbon cutting at noon, and came to the scene again in the evening to "pick up the missing tickets" to see if she had any tickets. "I mainly wanted to see Lao Qin (Qin Xiaoxian). I took a lot of videos at noon and even said hello to Lao Qin."

That day was also the 18th birthday of Li Xiang, a girl from Henan. She was interning in Shanghai and came to Deyun Club to check in. "I have liked Deyun Club for a long time. I haven't paid much attention to it in the past few years, but I want to fulfill my dream." She said, "I was attracted to it for no reason when I was in junior high school. I especially like Qin Xiaoxian, he is super interesting." She also mentioned, "Talk shows and cross talk are not much different, they both bring happiness to the audience."

Opening performance information

The blend of north and south, the most important thing is to be funny

Mr. Xie, 35, is also a crosstalk enthusiast and often listens to crosstalk at Xiaolehui (note: a crosstalk performance organization founded in Shanghai by Gao Hecai, a disciple of Guo Degang). Deyun Club's entry into Shanghai gave him more choices, and he was lucky enough to get tickets for the first performance.

He pays special attention to Zhang Jiunan, "There is a lot of improvisation, which is his style, and I think it is pretty good." Mr. Xie said that the opening performance lineup is strong, and the price is similar to that of large commercial performances. In the future, small garden fare will be restored, and 100 to 300 yuan is acceptable. Compared with large-scale commercial performances, he prefers the atmosphere of a small garden. "In a small garden with a few hundred people, the actors interact more with the audience, whereas in a commercial performance with thousands of people there is less interaction."

As a native of Shanghai, Mr. Xie said that he grew up listening to burlesque shows. As the times have evolved, he has also begun to accept northern culture, including cross talk, Errenzhuan, etc. In recent years, he has noticed that not only himself, but also more and more young people are listening to cross talk, including local children in Shanghai, children from relatives, and those learning allegro.

Qiao Qiao, who had a stall on the first floor of the People's Theater that day, brought many decorations made from fruit shells. In order to match the theme of Deyun Society, she also specially designed pendants including fans, clouds, microphones and other elements. "I'm a little excited, but also a little regretful. I wanted to go up and take pictures, but I didn't dare. They were just in front, less than one meter away." In the evening, she was still recalling the moments when Qin Xiaoxian, Meng Hetang, Shaobing, and Zhou Jiuliang walked past.

Qiaoqiao and her family all liked Deyunshe's performance and "thought the jokes were funny." She originally wanted to buy tickets for herself, her mother and her husband, but she didn't get one and planned to continue to follow. “It’s funny if you watch it online, but it’s still different from live experience and face-to-face interaction.” Qiao Qiao feels that although cross talk performances come from the north, there is not much cultural difference for young people. As long as the content is funny, it’s OK.

Xingxing is from Hubei and only came into contact with cross talk when he was studying in Beijing. He didn't get a ticket that day, so he came to the event "to generate electricity for love". She said, "Crosstalk needs to constantly inject fresh blood, and the new generation of young actors has brought a large number of new fans. Of course, for Mr. Guo and the older generation, I have seen many uncles and aunties coming here because of it. Everyone and every pair of partners have different styles. New actors will perform crosstalk in their own style, so that it can continue to be passed down."

According to Xingxing, crosstalk actors often have "current status" and will add regional "baggage" in different places. For example, when performing in Tianjin, they will add the "baggage" of local dialects, and when performing in Hangzhou, they will combine local historical stories, but the essence remains the same, and it is still the performance method of northern crosstalk.

"I feel from the bottom of my heart that cross talk and comedy are one family." Guo Degang said. When I came to Shanghai to perform before, I had a gathering with Shanghai folk art seniors to discuss this topic. Apart from the different dialects, the performance essence was very similar. I hope Deyun Society can interact with colleagues after arriving in Shanghai, and hope that all kinds of dramas will bloom.

There are many stalls set up on the first floor of the People's Theater and the crowds are busy.

Can you bring another wave of popularity to Sichuan North Road?

The People's Theater where Deyun Club is located is located at No. 1552 Sichuan North Road.

The old name of this building is the Guangdong Grand Theatre, which was built in 1928. In the 1950s, there was a sensational scene where famous Cantonese opera artists performed here, forming a Cantonese opera craze that lasted for many years. In 1968, it was officially renamed "People's Theater" and became the collective memory of generations of Shanghainese. In the 1990s, this place was not only a popular place for watching movies, but also a modern landmark for playing video games and casual gatherings.

In the early years, Sichuan North Road was still a famous commercial street in Shanghai. The slogan "Wander around other streets, go to Sichuan Road for business" was once a household name.

Deyun Club's "falling in Shanghai" has once again aroused people's attention to this old street. Can cross talk boost the popularity of the neighborhood?

Aunt Mao said that when she traveled to Beijing before, she made a special trip to the theater of Deyun Club to check in. Although there was no performance at the time, she was very happy to see the venue. For her, a ticket price of two to three hundred yuan is more suitable. As for whether to buy tickets in the future, "If Guo Degang and Xiao Yueyue are present later, they will definitely grab tickets. If they are not, it will be different."

Wenchuang garlic coffee cup at the stall.

Aunt Mao also said frankly that Sichuan North Road used to be a lively place, but now she only goes near Lu Xun Park and Hailun Road, and does not go to the People's Theater. Now that Deyun Club is open, the flow of people may increase.

Qiao Qiao lives in Qingpu and has heard of the reputation of Sichuan North Road, but is not familiar with it. This time when she went to the stall and saw the atmosphere, she felt that Deyunshe could bring a wave of popularity to Sichuan North Road.

The rise of "new landmarks" is inseparable from cultural and creative peripherals. At the booth of the People's Cinema Theater, the reporter saw garlic coffee cups in white and green colors. "Northerners eat garlic, and southerners drink coffee, so there are garlic coffee cups. They are only on display at the moment and will be sold later." A staff member of the cultural and creative booth said, "There is also garlic coffee in the coffee shop upstairs. You cannot go to the second floor during the opening period. After these five days, the second floor will be open to the public except during performance periods. You can buy it then."

From March 18th to 22nd, Shanghai Deyun Club held a total of 9 opening performances, with ticket prices divided into 8 levels from 100 yuan to 1,288 yuan. The venue can accommodate 317 spectators, and the tickets were sold out within minutes of the platform opening. According to the program list, many popular crosstalk actors will appear. From the 18th to the 20th, Guo Degang and Yu Qian will be in charge, and from the 21st to the 22nd, Yue Yunpeng and Sun Yue will take over.

Regarding content creation, Guo Degang said that he did not create "new memes" specifically for a certain city, but the content of the performance is universal and can be viewed regardless of east, west, north, or south. Deyunshe has 10 performance teams that tour in turns across the country, changing every city every two weeks. It is reported that the subsequent ticket price of Shanghai Deyun Club will be adjusted to about 100-380 yuan, and there will be performances every day except Monday.

(The names of the interviewees in this article are pseudonyms)

The Paper reporter Chen Yue and Peng Youqi

This year's government work report proposes to adhere to the dominance of domestic demand, coordinate the promotion of consumption and expand investment, expand new space for domestic demand growth, and better leverage the advantages of my country's ultra-large market. With the arrival of an aging society, releasing the consumer demand of the elderly and developing the silver economy has become a new space to promote consumption, expand domestic demand, and cultivate economic growth momentum. Shanghai is one of the first international consumption center cities in my country, and also the first city in my country to enter the aging population. Among them, there are nearly 5 million "silver-haired youth" (mainly referring to people aged 50-64), accounting for 20.1% of the permanent population. This special generation group has typical characteristics such as large wealth accumulation, strong consumption power, and good physical and mental status. It is a visible and potential consumption space. To this end, using comprehensive measures to make them willing to consume and actually consume is the key to boosting consumption in Shanghai.

Facing consumption worries

In recent years, Shanghai’s community comprehensive services have accelerated aging-friendly transformations such as elderly service centers, elderly care homes, and 15-minute elderly care living circles. Services and benefits such as home care, meal assistance, and medical assistance have been increasingly improved. However, many service items are targeted at the elderly. The “silver-haired youth” group said that they “are not yet able to use them.” They face many “troubles” in their consumption of “enjoy the elderly” and “enjoy the elderly.”

For example, the respondents in the survey generally reported that they tried many seemingly interesting things, such as senior universities, traveling and living, physical exercise, etc., but in the end they still felt bored and unaccustomed. Therefore, many "silver-haired young people" with few hobbies and interests are confused about how to live their long old life more fully. Some interviewees reported that it is not easy to "realize assets", and the policy of housing for retirement is not clear and too complicated to operate. They are worried about how to exchange for a decent old age with a property worth millions or tens of millions. It is also difficult to find "professional institutions". Many times, I don't know what kind of elderly care services are available, and I don't know what is suitable for me. I am afraid of being deceived. From the supply side, there are currently few categories of elderly products in China, and fields such as nutritious meals and rehabilitation aids have yet to be developed. There is a general lack of high-quality and customized products and services, and some high-end equipment relies on imports.

In addition, there is a disconnect between "online and offline", and "silver-haired youth" are faced with the problem of how to identify friendly, safe and healthy consumption scenarios. More and more "silver-haired youth" are accustomed to online shopping to obtain consumer services such as social networking, education, culture and entertainment. However, most existing online platforms do not have a special consumer area for seniors or a dedicated interface for the elderly. At the same time, online consumption by the elderly is prone to misleading and even false information and fraud through live broadcasts and product push. There is insufficient innovation in offline consumption scenarios. For example, the consumption time of the elderly is obviously misaligned. The elderly are accustomed to getting up early, and the most active time periods are concentrated in the morning. However, currently, the operating hours of a large number of commercial places are suitable for the development of the "night economy", and there is a lack of "morning economy" consumption demonstration scenarios that adapt to the elderly's work and rest.

Fix three shortcomings

Make up for the shortcomings in policy coordination. Silver consumption involves a wide range of industries and diverse business formats. The system structure, management and supervision, and relevant interest groups have yet to be matured and improved, and it is difficult to effectively integrate related resource elements. On the one hand, we need to solve the problem of resource dispersion. A large number of service resources for the elderly are scattered at different levels of the city and district or in different departments and units such as civil affairs, human resources and social security, commerce, and state-owned assets, with different foundations and varying progress in all aspects. For example, some state-owned enterprises were willing to use existing idle sites and facilities to develop in the elderly care field, but gave up because they did not match their main responsibilities and main businesses. On the other hand, we should avoid being limited to "talking about the elderly about the elderly." The consumption of the elderly is inseparable from the effective guidance of their children's "second wallet". The elderly help their children take care of the children, and the products and services of "one old and one young" need to be effectively bundled. For example, the promotional activities that children are exposed to generally lack the content of products and services suitable for the elderly. When they want to buy for their elders, they often don’t know what to buy and where to buy it.

Make up for the shortcomings in the enthusiasm of business entities. The boundaries between silver consumer businesses and industries are blurred, and it is crucial to mobilize the enthusiasm of business entities. More attention is paid to the welfare of services for the elderly, while awareness and emphasis on its economic value needs to be improved, and targeted policy recommendations are not clear enough. At present, most companies still regard services for the elderly as exploratory businesses, with insufficient continuous investment and brand building. The problem of "who will do it and who dares to invest" objectively leads to the general lack of market brands with aggregation and influence in the clothing, food, housing, transportation, etc. of the elderly. For example, there are few companies in the domestic automobile industry that have elderly welfare machinery products or have senior care product divisions, and there is insufficient publicity and promotion, and market awareness is not high. Another example is that the community rental business of rehabilitation assistive devices in Shanghai has been promoted in various streets. However, the number of users and the consumption amount are low. The vast majority of rehabilitation assistive device companies in the city are small in scale, and the market operation mechanism needs to be explored and improved. Some companies said that in many cases, elderly care and meal assistance are included in people's livelihood projects, and the number of beds and categories cannot be simply used as indicators. It cannot simply be understood as an increase in government investment and administrative intervention. Market analysis and target positioning of related services must be strengthened to avoid exacerbating the contradiction between supply and demand. For example, community canteens have become the first choice for elderly people in streets and towns to dine. Many elderly consumers have proposed that canteens should regularly provide seafood, Western food and other specialties, or sell high-quality agricultural and sideline products and other extended services. However, streets and service companies have expressed that they are unable to do so and hope that there will be as few community canteens as possible with "high-end dishes" and "high-end" reports.

Make up for the shortcomings of the lack of benchmark projects. Whether it is housing-based elderly care, high-end elderly care, volunteer services, interest groups, etc., the key to building consensus and creating an atmosphere in the short term is to exert a good demonstration effect, guide and promote more enterprises to invest in the development of silver products and services, launch a number of benchmark products and services, and lead the creation of a high-quality silver consumption highland. Comply with development trends such as live video streaming. To stimulate the vitality of silver consumption in the short term, it is inseparable from creating traffic and creating hot products, so as to drive the development of scale and branding. On the one hand, there is a lack of policy breakthrough demonstrations. Some companies said that some urban office and commercial projects are vacant, and local governments and owners have a strong desire to transform into elderly care institutions and elderly care service institutions. However, there is currently a lack of supporting policy support, and there is an urgent need to explore new models. On the other hand, there is a lack of popular products. In some business districts, in areas with strong demand such as elderly care services, nutritious meals, education for the elderly, and livability for the elderly, many businesses and entertainment facilities are idle during normal working days. In this regard, policies and measures can be introduced to support the development of the "idle economy", attract "silver-haired young people" to consume at the right time at preferential prices, and experience various high-end products and high-quality services, thereby expanding social awareness, allowing more high-quality supplies and innovative models in Shanghai to be recognized and familiar to older consumers, and leading consumer fashion.

Build consumer brands

In the medium to long term, efforts will be made to activate the consumption demand of "silver-haired youth" from both supply and demand ends, and strengthen environmental creation and factor supply. Relevant departments should strengthen institutional supply in a targeted manner from the aspects of market cultivation, platform building, personnel training, resource linkage, and legal protection. At the same time, they must seek support from the national level and form implementable fiscal, taxation, land, infrastructure, human resources and other measures through the creation of national-level silver consumption demonstration pilot zones, silver economic pilot projects, and international consumption center city characteristic brands. In the near future, further targeted efforts will be made to activate the consumption of "silver-haired youth" into the current key tasks of boosting consumption and major festivals, exhibitions and competitions, and strive to form new growth points.

The first is to further enhance the consumption visibility of "silver-haired youth" and focus on integrating various policy initiatives that attract high attention. In terms of equipment updating and consumer goods trade-in, we can continue to promote special actions such as equipment updating in the municipal infrastructure field, equipment upgrading in the cultural tourism field, and replacement of household appliances and home decoration consumer goods, expand the scope of renovation options, encourage the elderly to participate in the renewal and renovation, and gradually promote aging-friendly renovation of homes and aging-friendly renovation of communities. In terms of optimizing and adjusting real estate policies, enterprises can be guided in the five major new cities and other areas to actively develop housing that meets the requirements of the elderly and the characteristics of intergenerational living. Preferential policies such as taxes, subsidies, loans, etc. will be provided for "housing for the elderly" and for children who choose to buy houses for their elderly parents in the neighborhood. Adult children and elderly parents will be encouraged to live nearby or live together, and the livable industry for the elderly will be expanded. In terms of the integration of cultural, business, tourism and sports exhibitions, "silver-haired youth" can be regarded as the key cultivation targets, and in the fields of "silver-haired + ticket stubs", "time-of-slip consumption", "idle economy", suburban elderly tourism product development and other fields, the information push and organizational promotion of promotional discounts and other information can be strengthened to create more attractive new consumption scenarios in Shanghai.

The second is to link up with Shanghai’s “May 5th Shopping Festival” and “Shanghai Summer” international consumption seasons and key platforms, and launch a series of silver consumption activities offline and online. In the offline dimension, we support various special activities jointly carried out by various urban areas. By planning content such as "Silver Youth in Shanghai" and "Silver Youth Come to Shanghai", we will increase topics, products and routes related to silver consumption, and attract the "silver youth" group to become the main participants. In the online dimension, we will increase publicity and promotion efforts to attract the elderly and their children to safely and effectively participate in online consumption. For example, you can rely on a well-known Internet platform in Shanghai to co-brand elderly care companies to launch electronic coupons to encourage children to purchase rehabilitation aids and other elderly-friendly products and services for the elderly.

The third is to amplify the effect of platform carriers such as the "Shanghai Olds Expo" and cultivate and create a "silver-haired youth" consumer brand. The Shanghai International Elderly Care, Assistive Devices and Rehabilitation Medical Expo (referred to as "Shanghai Elderly Care Expo"), founded in 2000, has become quite influential. It is necessary to make good use of exhibition exhibitors and product resources to promote the formation of Shanghai's silver brand city identity. For example, "mini permanent exhibitions" and "touring exhibitions" can be launched to expand the display and sales venues of silver hair products and services to community embedded service facilities, aging-friendly bank outlets, etc., and promote enterprises and cases in the fields of elderly care services, technological elderly care, livability for the elderly, and entertainment for the elderly through exhibition boards, videos, physical objects, etc., to help professionalize and brand Shanghai silver hair products and services. At the same time, the "Silver Youth" shopping mall benchmark project was launched, combined with the transformation and upgrading of commercial complexes, drawing on the successful model of overall design of department stores for elderly customers in the first aging countries, and launching themed shopping malls or shopping mall areas for senior product sales and senior lifestyle experiences to achieve a win-win situation for "old business transformation, old brand replacement, and senior consumption".

The fourth is to enrich and renew the connotation of excellent traditional culture and strive to create a festival economy for the "Double Ninth Festival". Focus on family holidays, create targeted consumer promotion activities, and cultivate a consumer activity brand that reflects Shanghai's characteristics. In particular, we should make good use of the resources for traditional Double Ninth Festival respecting the elderly publicity and activities, increase the popularization of silver products and services, advocate a healthy lifestyle in old age, and encourage qualified elderly people to actively participate in social life. Use media platforms to evaluate the "Top 100 Brands of Silver Hair Products and Services" list to enhance the public recognition of enterprises in the industry. At the same time, we can conduct in-depth interviews and surveys based on public support projects and people's livelihood issues to further understand the base structure of "silver-haired youth", accurately "invest in people", provide more effective consumption guidance in a targeted manner, and continue to create a good social atmosphere.

(Author’s unit: Shanghai Municipal Party School of the Communist Party of China)

Don’t attack with Barcelona, ​​Barcelona beat Newcastle 7-2

In the early morning of March 19th, Beijing time, Barcelona returned to home to face Newcastle in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.

In the first half, Newcastle equalized the score twice after falling behind twice. Yamal scored a penalty kick in injury time to give Barcelona a 3-2 lead;

In the second half, Barcelona showed off its power and scored four goals in a row. In the end, Barcelona completed a 7-2 victory at home, with a total score of 8-3 in the two rounds to advance to the top 8.

Rafinha has 2 goals and 2 assists in this game, and he scored a hat trick in the last La Liga game against Sevilla. The last Barcelona player to be involved in a total of 7 goals in 2 consecutive games was Messi. The latter scored a hat trick against Betis in March 2019 and had 2 goals and 2 assists against Lyon.

"This was a difficult game, and we knew the opponent was a very physical team. They are very strong and have amazing strength. I knew their strength when I played in the Premier League." The Brazilian attacker said after the game that he believed the team's performance in the second half was much better.

Lewandowski also scored two goals in this game, bringing his number of goals in the Champions League to 109. "I am very happy with every Champions League goal I have scored, even the one I did not score in this game. I think if I feel good and have enough confidence, I can seize the opportunity to score."

He admitted that the starting opportunity is particularly important now. "As long as you can participate in the game, you can score a goal at some point to open up the situation, and you will always find an opportunity. That's the case today. Keep trying and working hard. I have to do my job for the team, because we are a collective and we have goals for the season to achieve."

Barcelona coach Flick thought the first half was very difficult after the game, "We knew they would press hard and they did a very good job of one-on-one defense. After we scored the first goal, the game became ups and downs. When the third goal came, I was very happy."

"Our strategy has been to advance gradually, but we lost the ball many times. Because Newcastle is very fast, it is not easy to defend. I asked the players to be more precise at halftime and press Newcastle at the back, and this strategy worked well."

According to the schedule, Barcelona will face Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals. In this season's Copa del Rey semi-finals, Barcelona was eliminated by Atletico Madrid 0-4/3-0. In the league, Barcelona defeated Atletico Madrid 3-1 at home. Regarding the game against Atletico Madrid, Flick said, "The next round of games will also look very difficult. We have to take it step by step, one game at a time. This is what we did last season and we will continue to do this this season."

4-0 win, Liverpool reverse Galatasaray and advance to quarterfinals

In the early morning of March 19th, Beijing time, in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, Liverpool returned to home against Galatasaray.

Szobosroy broke the deadlock in the first half and Salah missed a penalty kick;

In the second half, Ekitic, Hrafenbeek and Salah scored successively. In the end, the Red Army clocked out early in the 62nd minute and completed a 4-0 victory over the Turkish Super League giants. The total score of the two rounds was 4-1 to advance to the quarterfinals.

After losing in the first round of the Champions League knockout rounds, Liverpool reversed and advanced in the second round. This is the third time in Liverpool's history that they have done this. The previous two were against Chelsea in 2007 and Barcelona in 2019. Liverpool will face defending champion Paris in the quarter-finals. This will be the third knockout match between the two giants in the European competition. The previous two were the European Cup Winners' Cup semi-finals in the 1996-1997 season and the Champions League quarter-finals in the 2024-2025 season. Interestingly, Paris has successfully advanced in both previous series against Liverpool.

"Last season against Paris, we were completely suppressed on the road. Although we played well at Anfield, we lost on penalties. Their level has never declined. This team is already too strong to go further, and their performance so far is still very good." Regarding this game with Paris, Liverpool coach Slott did not show any timidity in an interview. "After seeing our performance tonight, Paris should not want to meet us. Last season, we were the only team that dragged them into overtime and penalty shootouts."

According to media statistics, Salah became the first African player to score 50 goals in the Champions League, including 47 goals for Liverpool, 2 goals for Basel, and 1 goal for Roma. Ekitic said in an interview after the game, "He is a legend. Some people say that Salah is not in good form this season, but for those of us who have followed him for many years, he got a lot of opportunities tonight. He still used his excellent vision to provide me with wonderful assists and help me score."

Wirtz created 8 scoring opportunities against Galatasaray, which is the highest number of opportunities created by a Liverpool player in a single Champions League game in the past 10 seasons. "We deserved to advance. We performed well tonight and could have won 10-0, but missed some chances. We still did well and should be proud and look forward to the quarter-finals."

Ekitic said, "We needed this result. We missed a penalty kick at the end of the first half. I was thinking in the locker room at halftime that we must continue to perform like this. I got a chance to score today and could have scored more goals. We played very relaxedly in this game and everyone performed well and ran for each other. This is why we won."

Tottenham won and were eliminated, the Premier League team was brutally defeated by La Liga

In the early morning of March 19th, Beijing time, Tottenham faced Atletico Madrid at home in the second round of the Champions League quarter-finals.

Muani and Simmons helped Tottenham take the lead twice, and the visiting team Alvarez and Hanzke equalized the score;

Simmons scored a penalty kick in stoppage time. Tottenham beat Atletico Madrid 3-2 at home and won their first victory since January 28, ending their eight-game winless streak in all competitions. But the 2-5 score in the first round still saw them eliminated with a total score of 5-7.

After the quarter-finals of the Champions League, the Premier League dropped from six teams in the top 16 to only two teams, while all three La Liga teams advanced on the Premier League teams – Real Madrid beat Manchester City 3-0, 2-1, Barcelona eliminated Newcastle United 1-1, 7-2, and Atletico Madrid eliminated Tottenham 5-2, 2-3. In six games, the La Liga team achieved 4 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss.

In another quarter-final second leg match in the early morning of March 19, Bayern returned home and defeated Atlanta 4-1 again. The total score of the two rounds was 10-2 to advance. Bayern will face Real Madrid in the quarter-finals. So far, all the Champions League quarter-finals have been played – Paris vs. Liverpool, Real Madrid vs. Bayern, Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid, and Sporting CP vs. Arsenal.

Bayern Sports Director Eberl was asked about an embarrassing record of the team – Bayern has not won against Real Madrid since 2012. In this regard, Eberl said: "It's time!" Coach Kompany said that both teams are very strong. "I hope we can give the fans a wonderful knockout match. Real Madrid is the best team in the history of the Champions League, so this will be a difficult task for us."

"It all means a lot to both clubs. It doesn't matter which team is better right now, the history of both clubs and the talent of the players on the field is very special. We are looking forward to a fantastic game and I hope that even neutral fans can appreciate this game. Of course, in the end what we want is to win and advance."

Shanghai men's basketball team beats Shandong to win eight consecutive games

On the evening of March 18th, Beijing time, in the 27th round of the CBA League regular season, the Shanghai Men’s Basketball Team faced Shandong Express at home. In this game, the Shanghai Men's Basketball Team sent out a starting lineup of Goodwin, Li Hongquan, Zhang Zhenlin, Lofton, and Wang Zhelin.

In the first quarter, Lofton hit a free throw to score the first point for the Sharks. Shandong Express responded by scoring 4 points in a row. Goodwin scored 5 points with a sudden outside shot. Wang Zhelin scored against a tough defense. Zhang Zhenlin and Wang Zhelin scored consecutive dunks to stop the opponent. After the timeout, Goodwin made two free throws, Li Hongquan received an assist and dunked with both hands, Wang Zhelin hit a three-pointer from the top of the arc, Shandong Expressway scored 6 points in a row to close the gap, Lofton broke through and made a layup, and Fogg scored 6 points with consecutive shots and free throws. After the first quarter, Shanghai 29-25 Shandong.

In the second quarter, Whiteside scored a free throw, Li Yongwei hit a mid-range shot, Tao Hanlin responded with two points, and Whiteside scored 4 points in a row inside. Li Tianrong scored 5 points in a row with a sudden inside and outside shot, Goodwin succeeded in a fast break layup, Lofton scored from the basket, Li Tianrong hit a three-pointer from the outside, and Wang Zhelin scored consecutive dunks to widen the point difference to double digits. Subsequently, Goodwin and Lofton scored 12 points together, and Zhang Zhenlin scored 5 points inside and outside. At halftime, Shanghai 70 to Shandong.

In the third quarter, Wang Zhelin scored a tip-in, Gao Shiyan responded with a three-pointer, Goodwin succeeded in a layup, and Li Hongquan made a three-pointer from the bottom corner. Li Tianrong scored a layup, Johnson responded with two points, Li Hongquan hit another three-pointer, and Whiteside scored 3 points with consecutive free throws. At the end of the quarter, the Shanghai team's offense came to a standstill, and Shandong Hi-Speed ​​seized the opportunity to close the gap with a 14-2 run. At the end of the third quarter, Shanghai Jiushi beat Shandong Expressway 87 to 78.

In the fourth quarter, Li Tianrong hit a three-pointer from the corner, Tao Hanlin responded with a two-point layup, Wang Zhelin hit a mid-range jumper, and Goodwin and Li Tianrong hit three-pointers successively. After the timeout, Li Tianrong felt hot and scored 5 points in a row, widening the point difference to double digits again. Wang Zhelin scored a layup, Goodwin scored a tough 2+1 under the basket, and Zhang Zhenlin scored 4 points in a row inside. At the end of the game, Shanghai beat Shandong 112 to 96, winning eight consecutive games in the regular season. Currently, the Shanghai team ranks first in the CBA standings with a record of 23 wins and 4 losses.

In terms of player statistics, Goodwin had 24 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals, Li Tianrong had 21 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist, Wang Zhelin had 17 points, 8 rebounds and 1 assist, Lofton had 13 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 1 steal, and Zhang Zhenlin had 13 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.

Head coach Lu Wei thought after the game, "First of all, our entire team attaches great importance to this game, because the Shandong team is currently one of the top four teams in the league. Overall, I felt that our offense throughout the game, especially in the first half, was smoother than in the previous games." But he also said, "But to be honest, several players still showed signs of slacking off in their thinking, so they kept letting the opponent chase the score to single digits. I asked everyone to tighten their minds, bring back the rhythm of offense and defense, and finally won the game."

Zhou Qihao qualified for the London World Table Tennis Championships team competition

According to Xinhua News Agency, on March 18, Beijing time, the Chinese table tennis men's team, which is undergoing closed training in Chengdu, held the second stage of the first team selection of the 2026 London World Table Tennis Championships team competition. Zhou Qihao won this selection and qualified for the competition.

Xu Yingbin, who won the first stage of the competition and entered the knockout round, entered the second stage of competition with Xiang Peng, Liang Jingkun, Zhou Qihao, Wen Ruibo, Chen Yuanyu, Chen Junsong, and Huang Youzheng. The knockout round will be drawn based on the latest world rankings, using a best-of-five-game system. The winner will lock in the qualification for the World Table Tennis Championships team competition.

Xiang Peng, Wen Ruibo, Zhou Qihao and Chen Junsong won the first round. In the semifinals, Wen Ruibo defeated Xiang Peng 3-1, and Zhou Qihao defeated Chen Junsong 3-1. In the final, Zhou Qihao defeated Wen Ruibo 3-1 and won the men's team's first trial championship.

In the follow-up, the men's team will confirm the participation status with the players based on the actual competition training, then set up an in-team tryout, and finally determine all participating quotas based on the evaluation of the coaching staff. Chen Xingtong won the women's team trials held earlier this month and qualified for the competition. The women's team will also hold team trials at a later date based on the training situation, and determine the final lineup based on World Cup results.

The London World Table Tennis Championships team competition will be held from April 28 to May 10.

AERO GLIDE 4 GRVL mixed-terrain running shoes.

Salomon Salomon releases spring series of diverse shoes and clothing combinations

Recently, Salomon, a French professional outdoor sports brand, officially released AERO GLIDE 4 GRVL mixed-road running shoes and FALCON FLY's second spring series of competition training running clothes, jointly building a footwear and clothing product matrix that combines professional performance with trendy style and outdoor lifestyle expression. Centered around the pioneering running aesthetics led by GRVL and FALCON FLY's "reconstructed running clothing imagination", Linking real diverse runners with a comprehensively upgraded pioneering running lifestyle, it continues to inject power into the return of Salomon's professional footwear and apparel matrix to the high-end road running market.

Through AERO GLIDE 4 GRVL and FALCON FLY's diverse shoe and apparel combinations, Salomon extends the spirit of exploration from the mountains to urban life scenes, breaking the constraints of terrain and conventional form constraints, allowing running to be integrated into the rhythm of daily life.

The concept represented by Salomon's new GRVL series is leading a new expression of road running. The world's first GravelShanghai Unfixed Route Challenge will be launched in Xintiandi, Shanghai in September 2025. The all-road running experience advocated by the brand combines outdoor authenticity and urban exploration. With the core concept of "pioneer, breakthrough, and no limitations", it shuttles through diverse terrains and real perceptions, giving running more imagination. The GRVL series not only represents a running method that breaks through the limitations of terrain and form, but also is a symbol of the brand's pioneering running aesthetics – under the design language that coexists performance and trendy style, the diverse running culture is naturally integrated into the context of urban life, and you can build your own life rhythm through unrestricted exploration.

FALCON FLY spring series of competition training running clothes.

also. Continuing the "ski racing DNA" and "pioneering spirit" derived from the brand's genes in the first series of FALCON FLY's high-end competitive training running clothes, FALCON FLY's new spring series focuses on three major themes: reconstructing the light experience, reconstructing the running suit scene, and reconstructing the running suit design. It reconstructs the imagination of spring training and running suits and helps runners start lightly in spring training and go as fast as they want.

The FALCON FLY spring series uses lightweight breathable fabrics with Polygiene® antibacterial technology to resist the sweat of spring running training, bringing a light and breathable body feel and maintaining a comfortable and dry running experience at different speeds. The overall design style follows the conceptual design language of speed presented in the first series, with functional details such as hidden pockets and adjustable cuff hems, showing the dynamic posture of runners who constantly break through the pace and keep moving forward during training.

This series is also equipped with a multi-scenario running clothing system, which provides a clear path to choose from for warm-up, training, and post-run relaxation to create multiple scenarios throughout a runner's daily life. The pre-run/post-run suit uses three layers of windproof and waterproof fabrics to calmly cope with the changeable weather in spring. It is equipped with underarm mesh design and laser perforation on the back to improve breathability, and connects to more life training scenes with a comfortable and light wearing feel.

In the future, Salomon will continue to delve into China's high-end road running market with a product matrix of shoes and apparel that combines professional performance with outdoor lifestyle aesthetics. Upgrading from a single product to a complete equipment system, it continues to expand the boundaries of innovation around more diverse running scenarios, conveys the brand's unique pioneering running aesthetics, and provides Chinese runners with more professional and cutting-edge outdoor road running products and experiences.