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The much-anticipated first match of the 2026 Chongming Forest Sleep Contest has just come to an end. In the end, Contestant No. 50, Mr. Yan, won the "Supreme Sleep God Award", with a total sleep time of nearly 5 hours; Contestant No. 33, Mr. Yuan, won the "One Second to Fall asleep Award", falling asleep in 11 minutes and 32 seconds. The 50 participating places in this competition were all taken up as soon as they were released. In the end, 43 contestants were placed in the competition. Except for those who abandoned the competition midway, 32 people won the "Leave and Win Master Award".
Judging from the game results, the magical "home field advantage" seems to be reflected: Although Mr. Yan is from Guangdong, he has lived in Chongming for a long time and is a "Chongming son-in-law"; Mr. Yuan is a native of Chenjia Town, Chongming District. Some contestants and viewers lamented: When it comes to sleeping, there is indeed a rule of "recognizing the bed". Chongming locals sleep soundly in Chongming!
Another interesting detail is that both Mr. Yan and Mr. Yuan are engaged in jobs where it is difficult to maintain a regular life: Mr. Yan works in a real estate company, and Mr. Yuan is engaged in home design and interior design. When interviewed by reporters, they both mentioned that work and life are inseparable, and it is common to work overtime until late at night, so they have developed the ability to "fall asleep anytime and anywhere." Mr. Yuan, the winner of the "One Second to Fall asleep Award", even fell asleep in one second one night early: "I originally wanted to prepare for the competition and stay up all night in advance, but I failed. I fell asleep as soon as I touched the pillow last night!"
Both Yan and Yuan said that it was an unexpected surprise to win the award: "On World Sleep Day, I had a good sleep in the Forest Park and received an award. I am very happy!"
Say "goodbye" to work for the time being, put all your worries away, plunge into the big forest of Chongming, put on a mattress, change into pajamas, cover yourself with a quilt, and sleep soundly all afternoon - on March 21, the contestants of the Chongming Forest Sleep Competition gathered in Chongming Dongping National Forest Park, fell asleep in the forest full of negative oxygen ions, and slept until they woke up naturally.
Can sleeping become a competition? Sleeping in a bed in the open air in the forest? There is actually a bonus to get? A few days before the game, the "Internet celebrity temperament" of this game has already spread. This new attempt and new exploration of Chongming eco-tourism has excited the excitement of many people and attracted the attention of netizens from all walks of life. Many netizens believe that “Chongming’s operation knows how to hit the workers’ hearts.”
In order to make the competition fair and just, the organizers of the event have set strict competition rules. Contestants must be healthy people between 18 and 50 years old. Contestants must lie on a standard bed throughout the entire process and can turn over, but any part of the body cannot leave the mattress for more than one-third. Sitting up, standing, or leaving the bed to go to the bathroom will be deemed as abandoning the competition. You can close your eyes in bed to relax or lie still in a daze, but it is strictly forbidden to take any drugs to help you fall asleep before the game, and you are not allowed to play with your mobile phone in bed with the quilt covered.
The competition will award one "Supreme Sleep God Award" and "One Second to Fall Asleep Award", with prizes of 3,000 yuan and 2,000 yuan respectively, awarded to the person with the highest comprehensive "sleep score" of the instrument and the person who falls asleep the fastest. The remaining finishers received the "Winner Award" and shared a bonus of 10,000 yuan.
At about 9 a.m. on March 21, contestants arrived one after another, received competition supplies and vegetable gift packs, and entered the competition venue. Applicants came from all districts in Shanghai, and many people came specially for this "sleeping competition". Some people came from Baoshan District. They are usually tired from work and have the ability to "fall asleep", so they are eager to try it. Others came from Minhang District and said, "I think the sleeping competition is quite interesting. The weather has been better recently, so I stopped by Chongming for an outing!"
Among the contestants, there are many who have "unique skills". Mr. Chen said that he once "slept standing up after getting on the bus, sleeping from the first stop to the last stop." There were also people who were already drowsy and blurry during the opening ceremony of the event, and couldn't wait to "snap". Many people also brought their own cute pajamas, and Ms. Tao, who was wearing cow-colored pajamas, was one of them. "I came from Minhang District and have never camped before, so this time I feel very fresh! In order to achieve good results, I wore my favorite pajamas and brought a star pillow, which is my favorite pillow."
At 12 noon, the game officially started, and the scene was quiet. The core area of the competition is located in the park's grassland, surrounded by forests on three sides and facing water on one side. The players fell asleep with the breeze on their pillows. Ten minutes later, snoring could be heard on the field.
Who will be the referee in a sleeping game? Xu Wei, the overall technical person in charge of this competition, told reporters that an optical fiber sensor belt was placed on each player's bed, which can collect various somatosensory data of the players during the competition to determine the players' sleep time, sleep depth, sleep duration, etc., and provide a basis for competition evaluation.
Unlike the deafening cheers, applause, and flag-waving in other sports arenas, this sleeping game in Chongming may be the quietest game. What should I do if the players have fallen asleep and their family and friends can't shout "Come on" next to them? The organizer of the event has designed a variety of cultural and tourism activities. Outside the competition venue, the themed market displays Chongming's intangible cultural heritage, special agricultural products and traditional snacks. In the forest park, spring flowers bloom, birds chirp, and sika deer stroll leisurely. Relatives, friends and tourists who accompany the contestants can enjoy leisure time in the forest.
It is understood that today is the first game of the Sleep Contest. There will be one game every Saturday until April 26, and one game each on May 2 and May 3, for a total of 8 games. As of now, all venues have been filled. "The purpose of organizing the sleep competition is to build an interesting and interactive platform to popularize the concept of sleep health, while comprehensively displaying Chongming's ecological cultural tourism, characteristic agriculture, sports activities and other diverse charms, attracting more citizens and tourists to come to Chongming and learn about Chongming." said Chen Haixing, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Shanghai Chongming Ecological Tourism Group Co., Ltd.
On the morning of March 21, the bells of Shanghai Binhai Ancient Garden were solemn and the memorial service was affectionate. The public memorial ceremony for the 35th anniversary of burial at sea, hosted by the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau, was solemnly held. More than 200 people from all walks of life gathered at the scene to pay respect and deep remembrance to the citizens who chose to be buried at sea over the past 35 years.
At the public memorial site, Ms. Chen, the representative of the family members buried at sea, told the story of her father who plowed the ocean and volunteered to be buried at sea. She said that Shanghai's comprehensive sea burial memorial facilities and series of activities allow ecological pioneers to be remembered and their spirits passed down, and also provide long-term sustenance for the families of those buried at sea.
On the day of the event, the second Shanghai Burial at Sea Cultural Week was launched simultaneously. This cultural week lasts for 17 days (March 21-April 6), covering the entire Qingming Festival cycle. The organizers have carefully set up theme exhibition areas such as the "Time Tunnel for the 35th Anniversary of Sea Burial", "Life Story Wall of Sea Burial Deceased", "Objective Exhibition of Changes in Sea Burial Work" and "Missing Lighthouse Outdoor Art Installation". They connect the "Tree" Memorial Forest, Sea Burial Memorial Garden and Sea Burial Monument and other commemorative facilities, allowing citizens to review the development process of sea burial in an immersive experience and express their grief.
It is understood that since the sea burial service was launched in 1991, Shanghai has escorted nearly 100,000 deceased people to carry out sea burial with ashes, and more than 340,000 family members participated in sea burial activities. In 2025, the number of sea burials of ashes in this city exceeded 10,000 for the first time, setting a record high. Among them, there were more than 1,000 sea burials of urban residents in the Yangtze River Delta region. Shanghai has now become one of the cities with the largest scale of sea burials in my country.
Shanghai's sea burial industry has developed steadily, benefiting from the continuous improvement of policy guarantees. This city has established a reward and subsidy policy for sea burials since 1999, and the standard has gradually increased from the initial 150 yuan/case to 3,000 yuan/case. In 2025, Shanghai has successively issued policy documents such as the "Opinions on Actively Promoting Sea Burial Services for Ashes" and "Notice on Improving the City's Funeral and Burial Policies to Benefit the People" to fully support sea burials in terms of service supply, process standardization, subsidy optimization, and mechanism improvement. Relevant documents also stipulate that from January 1, 2026, if the funeral director of a non-local registered deceased who is cremated in Shanghai chooses a collective burial at sea or other ecological burial methods, the funeral director does not need to bear the relevant expenses. Currently, there are more than 150 reservations for sea burials for deceased persons who meet the requirements and are not registered in this city.
This year is also the 1st anniversary of the establishment of Shanghai Burial at Sea Service Alliance. With Shanghai Feisi Sea Burial Service Co., Ltd. as the core, the service alliance links 13 funeral homes in the city, funeral hotline 962840 and many cemeteries in the city to form a "1+13+X" global sea burial service network. It achieves "full online coverage and offline offline services" for sea burial consultation and registration, significantly improving service accessibility and public satisfaction.
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Invest with less worries
The latest speech by a Fed official sent a big signal.
According to the latest news, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Michelle Bowman said she is worried about the job market and still expects the Fed to cut interest rates three times this year. On the same day, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller also said that if the job market shows signs of weakness, he will again support an interest rate cut later this year.
As the conflict in the Middle East escalates and international oil prices soar, Wall Street is discussing that U.S. inflation may re-heat and prompt the Federal Reserve to suspend interest rate cuts or even switch to raising interest rates. According to the CME Fed Watch tool, Wall Street traders predict that the probability of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates by the end of this year has risen to more than 30%. But economists at Bank of America still believe that the Fed is still more likely to cut interest rates than to raise them in 2026, especially if the impact of rising oil prices caused by the Iran war subsides.
At this critical moment, there are great variables in the change of the chairman of the Federal Reserve. U.S. President Trump said he still supports the U.S. Department of Justice's investigation of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Some analysts pointed out that this stance may further delay the confirmation of Kevin Warsh, the potential successor to Federal Reserve Chairman Powell.
"The Fed will cut interest rates three times this year"
On March 20, EST, Bowman, the Fed’s vice chairman for supervision, said that she still expected the Fed to cut interest rates three times this year.
She believes it is too early to assess the impact of the Iran war on monetary policy.
Bowman added that she expected strong economic growth this year, helped by the Trump administration's "supply-side policies," even as she expressed concerns about the labor market. She also predicted that Kevin Warsh would have a "significant impact" on the Fed if he was confirmed to succeed current Chairman Jerome Powell.
On the same day, Fed Governor Waller also said that if the job market shows signs of weakness, he will again support interest rate cuts later this year, while remaining vigilant about the inflationary pressure that may be brought about by the current geopolitical situation.
Waller pointed out that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz portends greater inflationary pressures, and rising oil prices may ultimately affect core inflation. He emphasized that the current cautious attitude does not mean that the rest of the year will be on hold.
On Wednesday Eastern Time, the Federal Reserve announced that it would keep the target range for the federal funds rate unchanged at 3.5%-3.75%, in line with consensus market expectations. Judging from the voting results, 11 of the 12 members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) supported no action, and only Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Millan supported a 25 basis point interest rate cut.
Powell also pointed out at the post-meeting press conference that short-term inflation expectations indicators have risen recently, which may reflect the impact of energy market fluctuations; however, long-term inflation expectations are still generally stable near the 2% policy target.
He also emphasized that the impact of the evolving situation in the Middle East on the U.S. economy is highly uncertain, and the Federal Reserve will pay close attention to related risks.
It is worth noting that when asked about issues related to the chairman's term, Powell said that if his successor has not completed the confirmation process when his term expires, he will continue to perform his duties until the successor is in place.
Guosheng Securities pointed out that the situation in the Middle East has pushed up energy prices, and global liquidity will gradually tighten, suppressing market risk appetite. Powell revealed that the possibility of subsequent interest rate hikes was discussed at the meeting, and the market's expectations for an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve have dropped significantly. There have been less than one expected rate cut during the year, and some even bet that there will be no interest rate cut this year.
Guosheng Securities reminds that rising oil prices may lead to rising inflation, which may lead to the Federal Reserve suspending interest rate cuts or even discussing raising interest rates, increasing the possibility of economic stagflation, and recommends being wary of the risk of deep adjustments in the stock market.
According to the latest data, the U.S. producer price index (PPI) rose 0.7% month-on-month in February, with an expected value of 0.3% and the previous value of 0.5%; the year-on-year increase reached 3.4%, a new high in a year, with an expected value of 2.9%.
Variables in the change of Fed chairman
At the same time, the change of chairman of the Federal Reserve also brought major changes.
On March 19, Eastern Time, US President Trump once again publicly supported the Department of Justice's criminal investigation of Powell in the Oval Office and slammed Powell as "incompetent and dishonest."
This statement directly aggravated the deadlock in the confirmation process of Kevin Warsh, and the controversy over the Fed's policy independence has once again heated up.
"He's under investigation because it cost him tens of billions of dollars more to build the building than expected," Trump said. "It shows there was criminal activity, maybe related to the contractor," he added.
Trump was referring to a renovation project at the Federal Reserve headquarters in Washington that is the focus of a federal criminal investigation into Powell led by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro.
The U.S. Department of Justice issued subpoenas to Powell and the Federal Reserve in January this year to investigate cost overruns in the renovation project of the Washington headquarters. In a scathing ruling last week, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg blocked a Washington grand jury subpoena in the investigation. "There is substantial evidence that the administration issued these subpoenas to the Fed Board of Governors in an effort to pressure the chairman to vote for a rate cut or resign," he wrote.
People familiar with the matter said that the judge's ruling originally provided a "step down" for the Trump administration to end the investigation of Powell and allow the controversy to gradually subside. But if the legal battle continues, Trump may have to wait longer to bring Kevin Warsh into office.
Republican Senator Thom Tillis has repeatedly said he would block Warsh's nomination from advancing before the Senate Banking Committee until the Justice Department drops its investigation into Powell. Warsh must be approved by the committee before being submitted to the full Senate for a vote for confirmation.
Tillis said he personally recognized Warsh but believed the investigation undermined the Fed's longstanding independence from executive branch interference. I can't imagine the market reaction if the market suddenly thinks that the Fed chairman is taking orders from the president.
It is reported that Powell’s term as Fed chairman will end in May this year, and his term as a governor will last until 2028.
In the past two days, the most interesting thing in the pharmaceutical sector is the CRO leader Zhaoyan New Drug.
The reason is that on Sunday night, Zhaoyan New Drug announced that the fourth largest shareholder Gu Xiaolei and the seventh largest shareholder Gu Meifang (aunt-nephew relationship) planned to liquidate their positions and sold all 30.74 million shares, accounting for 4.1% of the total share capital. The reason for liquidation is just 6 words - own capital needs.
On Monday, March 17, Zhaoyan New Drug's A shares fell by the limit, and H shares fell 11.7%. After the plunge, the stock price has almost halved from its high point at the beginning of the year.
However, what is even more darkly humorous is that when the stock price collapsed, the two quickly "gived up" and urgently revised their shareholding reduction plan that night, changing the liquidation and reduction to a reduction of no more than 3% of the total share capital, cashing out approximately 700 million. This was a show of "knowing mistakes and being able to correct them" that benefited investors.
This kind of operation is almost child's play. Retail investors want to curse and institutions want to laugh. But what’s really worth pondering is: Suzhou Gu’s strategic investment in Zhaoyan New Drug has lasted for 18 years. Gu Xiaolei and Gu Meifang were also directors of the company. Why are they running away now?
The "Slipper King" family reduced its holdings
Gujia in Taicang, Suzhou is well-known in the Chinese medical industry.
Gu Xiaolei's grandfather, Gu Jianping, was the secretary of Xiangtang Village in the 1970s. He started out by processing corduroy slippers for Shanghai companies and was known as the "Slipper King." In 2000, he established Xiangtang Group on the basis of a shoe factory. Through restructuring, it developed into a dark horse private enterprise in Taicang.
The current chairman of Xiangtang Group is Gu Zhenqi, Gu Xiaolei's father. Gu Meifang is Gu Zhenqi’s sister.
The first time the Gu family came into contact with medicine was in 2002. Gu Jianping met Zhou Zhiwen and Feng Yuxia, a couple who started their own business in Beijing through a Japanese partner. Gu Jianping invested 30 million for the couple to make medicine, and this became Shutai Shen.
Before Shutai Shen, Zhou Zhiwen and his wife had already established Zhaoyan New Drug.
In 2008, the Gu family invested in Zhaoyan New Drug, forming today’s shareholding structure. Since then, Xiangtang Group has successively invested in 9 biopharmaceutical companies, all of which became the main customers of Zhaoyan's new drugs in the early stages of their launch.
According to this script, Xiangtang Group may become the second Fosun Pharma given time.
Especially when the share price of Zhaoyan New Drug was at a high level in the past two years, the Gu family did not reduce its holdings in a large proportion. Why is it suddenly being cleared now?
There may be some clues in the public information.
In 2022, Xiangtang Group ranked 476th among the top 500 private enterprises in China's manufacturing industry, with annual revenue of 13.523 billion (2021 data).
In 2023, Jiangsu ranks 87th among the top 100 private enterprises, with revenue of 14.52 billion (2022 data).
By October 2025, Xiangtang Group ranked 172nd on the list of the top 200 private enterprises in Jiangsu, with revenue in 2024 of 9.804 billion.
Xiangtang Group has four major business sectors, with biomedicine ranking first, followed by intelligent manufacturing, financial venture capital, and real estate.
Revenue dropped from 14.5 billion to 9.8 billion. It is not difficult to guess which sector has the problem.
The company’s own people run faster
The Gu family's operation is eye-catching, but in terms of speed, it depends on the company's own people.
Just in January this year, Zhou Zhiwen, the male actual controller of the company, had just made a big move. Through block transactions and centralized bidding, he reduced his holdings by 14.979 million shares and cashed out about 568 million yuan.
Since this reduction, the share price of Zhaoyan New Drug has been falling all the way, with the latest closing price falling 22.72% from the average price of his reduction.
Looking further forward, from September to November 2025, a number of directors, supervisors and senior executives reduced their holdings by a total of 422,400 shares.
It is worth noting that from November 2020 to February 2021, Zhou Zhiwen and Feng Yuxia were issued a warning letter by the Beijing Securities Regulatory Bureau in February 2024 due to excessive reduction of holdings in violation of regulations and a delay of one year and three months in information disclosure.
Counting from the first reduction of holdings in November 2020, Zhou Zhiwen has cashed out a total of approximately 1.52 billion yuan.
The actual controller is running away, the executives are running away, and the old shareholders are running away. The posture of Zhaoyan New Drug is like "the monkey king is rushing to fall from the tree."
Making profits by raising monkeys
Let’s look at Zhaoyan New Drug itself.
On January 21, the company issued a "good performance forecast" announcement. Revenue in 2025 is expected to decrease by 13.9%-22.1%, but net profit will increase by 214%-371%.
This means that Zhaoyan New Drug’s profit growth does not stem from its core service businesses such as drug safety evaluation and pharmacodynamic research.
Why did net profit surge? The secret lies in biological assets.
A-share companies classify living animals as "biological assets" and price them at fair value. The biological assets here at Zhaoyan New Drug are experimental monkeys. At the end of the year, it depends on the market price of the monkey and it is included in the income statement.
At present, Zhaoyan New Drug is one of the CROs with the most self-owned monkey resources in China, and is known as the "Monkey King".
In 2024, the price of monkeys dropped, and Zhaoyan made an impairment provision of nearly 200 million. At the beginning of 2025, the initial value of book biological assets was 383 million. But at the end of June, Monkey was still falling, and another loss of 22.14 million was accrued.
But according to Zhaoyan, in the second half of 2025, the monkey suddenly became a "monkey flying in the sky", and the fair value at the end of the year directly exceeded 450 million. You know, those monkeys in the company were worth only 376 million at the end of June last year, which is equivalent to more than doubling the value in half a year. During the same period, the number of monkeys in the company changed little.
Monkey prices are indeed rising. Procurement information from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences in April 2025 shows that the budget for nine cynomolgus monkeys is 855,000, corresponding to a unit price of about 95,000. In February this year, the Shanghai Institute of Drugs launched a tender with a budget of 62 million for 450 cynomolgus monkeys, and the corresponding unit price has risen to about 137,000.
Superimposed on the natural growth and appreciation of the monkeys themselves, simply speaking, it is the age jump from infant monkeys to young monkeys to experimental monkeys of appropriate age. The value will rise in a stepwise manner, thus jointly promoting the soaring of the fair value of the company's biological assets.
But the problem is that while raising monkeys becomes a resource barrier for the company, it also amplifies the company's vulnerability.
The Troubles of the "Monkey King"
On February 26 this year, "Study Times" published an article, "Actively seize the commanding heights of digital cell technology." It mentions "simulating cells", which is what the FDA promoted last year to gradually cancel animal experiments and shift to AI toxicity prediction and organoid testing.
There is no need to explain what kind of media "Study Times" is.
Coincidentally, there was news in the past two days that Roche planned to buy 2,176 Nvidia chips to expand its AI infrastructure. Sooner or later, the war between China and the United States in the AI competition will burn into the pharmaceutical industry. How much a monkey is worth may not really matter in the future.
Looking at the company's core business, the CRO industry has gradually transformed from Xiaotiantian to Niu Madam in the past few years. There is overcapacity, declining orders, low-price competition is more serious, and the company's gross profit margin has been declining. At the same time, the monkey price is fluctuating again. In 2023 and 2024, the company's net profit plummeted by 63% and 81% respectively.
This is not the worst. In 2025, laboratory services and other main businesses will lose 130 to 210 million yuan, which is the first full-year loss since the company went public. Currently, the company's market value has evaporated by nearly 70% from its 2021 high.
This may be the real reason why the Gu family in Taicang wants to clear their warehouses, and it also heralds a turning point of an era.
However, the recovery of the general environment, the explosion of emerging fields such as antibodies and small nucleic acids, and the improvement of overseas business still retain the possibility of rewriting the outcome.
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Xu Meng, a girl born in the 2000s, opened the photo show as usual, fixed a selfie, and prepared a circle of friends. On the page where the photo retouching ends, between the two regular options of "Poster Design" and "Help me retouch the photo", a strange option comes into view - "Borrow Money".
She opened it curiously, and the words "Special Loan Platform for Meitu Users" popped up on the screen, asking for authorization of a mobile phone number, and showing the maximum loan amount: 200,000 yuan. There were three introductions on the page, and she was stunned: "Why does a photo editing software want to lend me money?"
In this era of digital services at your fingertips, many people have discovered that it is no longer just those "serious" financial apps that want to lend you money. When you take a taxi, the taxi platform will ask you if you need a "credit"; when you surf social media, there is a "borrow money" entry in your wallet; when you browse short videos on a short video platform, a "borrow with confidence" promotional video suddenly appears in front of you... From social networking, entertainment, travel to life tools, major platforms are competing to play the role of "creditor" or "intermediary".
Borrowing should be a major matter that requires careful consideration, but now it has become a "simple operation" that may occur in any consumption or even entertainment aspect. People may not fully realize what a click to save a few dollars or an "interest-free installment" option actually means and what kind of chain reaction it may have.
To borrow or not to borrow has become an inevitable question that must be answered.
Nowadays, you can find the entrance to “borrow money” on any photo editing app.
How are we being borrowed invisibly?
The penetration of Internet credit often starts with a tiny click.
Li Yang, a college student, was watching a popular drama and clicked on the "Get 1-month VIP for free" button on a certain video platform. The page then jumped to an off-site lending platform, requiring him to fill in his ID card and mobile phone number to apply for a credit limit. In order to save more than 20 yuan in membership fees, he needs to become a "borrower" first.
Chen Xin, a "post-95s" girl, once almost "owed" a taxi platform 40,000 yuan in order to receive 30 15-yuan taxi coupons. "I usually exit immediately when I see this kind of page, but I was in a hurry that day and didn't think much about it when I saw a discount on fare collection." Chen Xin recalled. After the taxi ride ended, an eye-catching discount prompt popped up on the payment page. She subconsciously clicked, swiped her face, and verified, all in one go.
It wasn't until the last step of "confirming whether to get a loan" that she suddenly woke up - she had almost incurred tens of thousands of yuan in debt for a discount of dozens of yuan. “The process is so smooth that you don’t even realize it’s a loan,” Chen Xin said.
Chen Xin’s experience is not unique. Turn on your mobile phone, from ordering takeout, taking a taxi, watching videos, to editing pictures, listening to music, and even recharging your campus card, the entrance to "borrowing money" is like a capillary, embedded in almost every digital life scene. "Xinmin Weekly" reporters randomly tested more than 20 commonly used applications on mobile phones covering shopping, entertainment, travel, tools and other types, and found that each one has a conspicuous or hidden "loan entrance".
Apps for food, clothing, housing and transportation include Ele.me’s “Xingyongjin”, Mango TV’s “Mangli·Haodai”, etc.; even completely unrelated utility apps are joining in the fun, such as WPS’s “Kingsoft Finance”. The 2025 statistical results of a financial sector leader from a consulting agency show that 70% of the top 100 traffic giants have started financial realization.
In 2017, Lei Jun predicted at Xiaomi’s annual meeting: In the future, all business giants will be Internet companies and financial companies. Now it seems that his prediction is coming true.
If the direct "borrow money" button still has a certain degree of recognition, then "installment payment" is a more secret and daily embedding of credit. It is "perfectly" integrated into the consumption action itself, blurring the boundary between consumption and debt.
"I never thought 'installment' and 'loan' were the same thing before." Guo Yuan, who had recently applied for a housing loan, told reporters that it was not until she saw the loan records in her personal credit report that she was shocked to realize that the installment payments she was accustomed to in her daily life would be shown as personal consumption loan records from consumer finance companies.
Reporters found that this misunderstanding is extremely common: many consumers regard "instalment" as a payment "benefits" provided by the platform, rather than a formal credit behavior, and do not understand the long-term impact it may have on personal credit records.
It can be seen that in the digital age, complex financial decisions are reduced to a few casual clicks in a carefully designed interactive process. Some people in the industry put forward, "Financial services should be like chewing gum, I will be wherever the cashier is."
Has this “deep scenario-based” financial concept led to excessive marketing and induced lending in practice? Li Nan, associate professor at the Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, said in an interview with Xinmin Weekly that there is no problem with this concept of focusing on user needs when applied to payment services, but it is very problematic as a loan marketing concept. In actual operations, some platforms use algorithm push, limited-time discounts, pop-up window induction and other methods to create a sense of urgency and false demand, and further induce users to borrow irrationally.
Why do platforms compete to be “creditors” or “intermediaries”?
"The end of the universe is Tieling, and the end of the platform economy is lending." This joke came from netizens, but it pointed out a typical routine of the platform economy - "burn money in the early stage and lose money to make money, and after acquiring customers, rely on the monopoly position to make profits."
Li Nan further analyzed in detail the business logic of "burning money to acquire customers - monopoly realization". "These Internet platforms initially attract users through money-burning subsidies, forming a network effect. Once the user scale reaches a critical point, the platform forms a monopoly. But the problem is that relying solely on information service charges cannot cover the huge initial money-burning costs. So, how to realize cash? Lending has become a 'perfect' way to make profits due to its high rate of return."
In April 2021, the People's Bank of China, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange and other financial management departments jointly conducted supervision interviews with 14 online platforms engaged in financial services. The main problem is to embed small and micro loans and consumer loans in the payment scene, and package the loans as convenient payment methods to induce users to use them.
Chen Yinjiang, deputy secretary-general of the Consumer Rights Protection Law Research Association of the China Law Society, believes that in terms of monetization methods, not all apps can launch self-operated lending products, which are mainly divided into two models: one is that the platform has its own financial license and directly lends to earn interest differentials. The platform uses its own user consumption data and behavioral data to carry out precise credit granting and earn interest and installment fees. "The annualized interest rate of formal consumer loans is usually between 15% and 24%. After deducting capital costs and operating costs, the profit rate can reach more than 30%." Chen Yinjiang said.
The other is to assist loan cooperation and provide secondary diversion, which is a more “lightweight” model. For platforms that do not have financial licenses, such as Meitu Xiu Xiu and Hello Bicycle, they only need to cooperate with banks and licensed consumer finance companies to be responsible for diverting traffic. The platform directs users to financial institutions and divides them according to the "number of clicks" and "loan amount". It can usually extract 30% to 50% of the loan interest. Hello's "Zhen You Qian" is a typical loan assistance model, and its partners include Zhongyuan Consumer Finance, Shanxi Merchant Consumer Finance, etc.
Li Nan pointed out, “Most of the current loan assistance models have very big problems. The core problem is that these loan assistance institutions or small loan companies use themselves or related platforms to divert traffic, take the funds of cooperative units (often small and medium-sized banks) to lend, and hardly bear the principal of the loan, but decide who to lend to, how much to lend, and how much to charge. Interest. This is a typical 'moral hazard', that is, loan decision makers do not bear the risk of bad debts but can earn interest, so they obviously have no incentive to review the borrower's repayment ability and control credit risks, but they have unlimited incentives to lend as much money as possible as quickly as possible, which ultimately leads to predatory lending."
This "no capital and profit" business model forms the cornerstone of profits. The company's financial report data directly confirms this: In the first half of 2025, the net profit of Ctrip's small loan company soared 132.58%, with a net profit of 44.29 million yuan.
Some of these profits are "regulatory arbitrage" because these institutions are doing the same lending business as commercial banks, but they are not subject to the same supervision as commercial banks to control their risks. This is why the financial regulatory authorities require small loan companies to lend more than 30% of their own funds, and require lending institutions not to make actual lending decisions.
The "risk outsourcing, profit retention" model is the essential reason for the barbaric growth of consumer loans. Li Nan also said that platforms often use algorithms that understand you better than yourself to make borrowing money "irresistible."
An algorithm engineer who has worked in the financial departments of several Internet companies revealed: "The interest-free ads that pop up when you watch short videos, the text messages that say 'Congratulations on getting an exclusive credit', and even the cash-out red envelopes that pop up when ordering takeout are all no accidents. There is a complex model behind this. To briefly describe my job, it is to determine how much red envelopes to send, so that it is easier for you to borrow money."
"We don't know the specific names of the netizens on the other side of the screen, but we know the behavior track behind the user ID." The engineer further explained that the platform can calculate the approximate income and expenditure status through the frequency, category and amount of consumption. Once the algorithm determines that you may be "lack of money", the push will start.
For platforms that do not have a financial license, such as Hello Bicycle, they only need to cooperate with banks and licensed consumer finance companies to be responsible for diverting traffic.
From convenience to trap, what are the risks?
The pervasive lending has quietly changed some people's consumption habits and financial structure.
Lin Yue, a 32-year-old literary worker, showed reporters the repayment reminder calendar on her mobile phone. It is densely marked with the repayment dates of 8 different apps. Viewed individually, any debt seems "innocuous": the monthly repayments range from a few hundred yuan to just over a thousand yuan, and most of them are interest-free installments, which seem to be completely within the coverage of her monthly income. They may seem insignificant, but they are like countless small pipes that continue to drain her cash flow, leaving her financial status in a sub-healthy state for a long time.
Lin Yue said: "I don't feel anything about each payment, but it adds up to thousands of yuan every month. Sometimes I can't figure out how much I owe."
This "shared debt" phenomenon is spreading among young people. According to a report released by the Financial Center Information Network, the average consumer credit debt of young users reaches 18,000 yuan, and 30% of the debt exceeds their monthly income by 5 times (the industry risk threshold is 3 times). In 2024, the non-performing loan rate for young users in the consumer finance industry will reach 2.8%, an increase of 0.6 percentage points from 2020, and the non-performing loan rate for "loans to support loans" users will be as high as 8.5%.
Lawyer Zhu Pingsheng, a partner at Shanghai Junyue Law Firm, analyzed the compliance boundaries of platform behavior from a legal perspective. He pointed out that many platforms currently hide their “borrowing entrances” behind interfaces such as “Get Coupons”, “Interest-Free Installments” and “Instant Taxi Discounts”. Users are “loaned” without knowing it. This behavior is suspected of infringing on consumers’ rights to know and make independent choices.
In addition to interest, users may also bear high "guarantee fees", "service fees" and "consulting fees" when borrowing money, causing the actual annualized interest rate to far exceed 36%. Zhu Pingsheng pointed out that these fees are charged in the name of "credit enhancement services", which is a disguised act of raising interest rates. "The regulatory red line clearly stipulates that the comprehensive financing cost of customers cannot be higher than 24%. Platforms avoid supervision by splitting fees and charging multiple parties, which is essentially taking advantage of legal loopholes."
Regulators have taken notice of the chaos. On the eve of the Spring Festival in 2026, the State Financial Supervision and Administration Bureau, together with the State Administration for Market Regulation and the People's Bank of China, conducted interviews with six travel platform companies. Yantai Jian pointed out three core problems in the cooperative lending business between banking platforms and financial institutions: misleading marketing, insufficient information disclosure, and lack of consumer rights protection.
Recently, in order to maintain the order of the personal loan market, protect the legitimate rights and interests of financial consumers, and improve the quality and efficiency of financial services, the State Administration of Financial Supervision and the People's Bank of China jointly issued the "Regulations on Expressed Comprehensive Financing Costs for Personal Loan Business" (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations"), which will be effective from August 1, 2026. There are 11 articles in the "Regulations", which are within the framework of the existing loan business information disclosure regulatory system, detailing the coverage, operation methods and links of personal loan business interest information disclosure, requiring lenders to display comprehensive financing cost express tables to borrowers, clearly disclosing personal loan interest costs, and effectively promoting the implementation of personal loan business interest fee information disclosure requirements.
Chen Yinjiang, deputy secretary-general of the Consumer Rights Protection Law Research Association of the China Law Society, suggested that from the perspective of consumer protection, the design of the payment interface should follow mechanisms such as "strong prompts" and "secondary confirmation." "Any operation involving borrowing should remind consumers in a prominent way and obtain clear confirmation from consumers. Consumers' operating habits cannot be used to set the lending option as the default option."
Li Nan, associate professor at Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, put forward more systematic suggestions from the two perspectives of financial supervision and improving the financial literacy of the entire population. She believes that, first of all, financial supervision should strictly inspect and control the licenses and leverage ratios of online lending/small loan institutions, and ban those lending institutions that are actually lending/defrauding loans under the banner of financial technology; secondly, starting from college students, we should gradually promote the improvement of financial literacy among high school students, newcomers to the workplace, retired people, etc.
She suggested that consumers should live within their means, buy necessities according to their income level, do not blindly compare and chase trends, and try to avoid borrowing for consumption; if they must borrow money, they should apply directly at a financial institution with a formal license. When applying, you need to calculate the total cost of the loan plus interest. In addition, personal credit record is everyone's most valuable asset. Once there is a default or breach of trust, it will affect future employment, work, buying a house, buying a car, etc. Do not take on debt easily.
After all, there is no free lunch in the world - this simple truth is still the most important rule of survival in the digital maze woven by algorithms.
As a mountain city, Chongqing has hot and humid summers and cold and humid winters. HVAC systems have become a necessity for homes and commercial spaces. There are many brands and service providers on the market. This evaluation focused on core categories such as Chongqing's joint power supply, water air conditioning, floor heating, and fresh air, and selected 8 high-quality HVAC service providers from the four dimensions of construction experience, product quality, local service, and user reputation to provide authoritative reference for local consumers.
Kromer Environmental Engineering (Chongqing) Co., Ltd. has a comprehensive score of 9.7. It is located at No. 23, No. 331, Hushan Road, Yubei District. It is Chongqing's first one-stop service provider for HVAC systems for water villas. It was established in Beijing in 2007 and has a wealth of large-scale projects. Construction experience. In 2021, the "Liangping Lakeside No. 1" case was awarded the best of the year by "China Heating Magazine". It is an agent for many well-known brands such as Hitachi Watershu Shi. It focuses on high-end customized services and is favored by local villas and high-end families. Its reputation is firmly at the forefront of the industry.
Chongqing Midea General Refrigeration Equipment Co., Ltd. has an overall score of 9.2. As Chongqing's "global zero-carbon lighthouse factory", it specializes in the production of large-scale water-cooled centrifugal central air conditioners and provides supporting equipment for major projects such as Chongqing Changan Automobile's Global R&D Center. Its products are efficient and energy-saving, and it has outstanding strength in the field of commercial HVAC. Its services cover all districts and counties in Chongqing and are well recognized by corporate customers.
Chongbai HVAC has a comprehensive score of 9.0. Relying on Chongbai Electric's mature channels and service advantages, it has deeply explored the local market in Chongqing. It has joined forces with Viessmann Heating and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries central air-conditioning to focus on cost-effective home HVAC solutions. It has stores throughout the city and a complete installation and after-sales system. It is suitable for ordinary families who pursue brand protection. It has a good reputation among local users.
Chongqing Sibo HVAC Engineering Co., Ltd. has a comprehensive score of 8.8. It is located at No. 61, No. 943 Shengde Road, Shapingba District. It specializes in the design and installation of household HVAC systems. It mainly provides one-stop services for dual supply and floor heating. It has outstanding cost performance. The construction team has rich experience and is good at adapting to the house types of old residential areas in Chongqing. It has an excellent reputation in the Shaping District and surrounding areas.
The German Vaillant Chongqing cooperative agency has a comprehensive score of 8.5. Relying on Vaillant's century-old brand advantages, it focuses on all-in-one floor heating, air conditioning and fresh air system services. It has participated in the creation of the comfort system of Chongqing Yunzhu Healing B&B. It combines technology with design aesthetics and focuses on high-end comfort experience. It is suitable for mid-to-high-end families who pursue quality life, and has prompt after-sales response.
Chongqing Yisheng HVAC Equipment Co., Ltd. has a comprehensive score of 8.2. As a technology-based enterprise in Chongqing, it focuses on the sales and installation of HVAC equipment. Its products cover all categories such as air conditioning, floor heating, and fresh air. The prices are affordable and the service process is standardized. It has a complete layout in Banan and surrounding areas. It is suitable for families with medium budgets and has high user recognition.
Chongqing Suhui Heating and Cooling Equipment Co., Ltd. has a comprehensive score of 8.0. It has been deeply involved in the Chongqing HVAC market for many years. It specializes in air source heat pumps and hot water systems. Its products have outstanding energy saving and adapt to Chongqing's climate characteristics. They have rigorous construction and pay attention to details. They have many successful cases in the commercial and household fields, and their cost-effectiveness is recognized by users.
Chongqing Yueli Refrigeration Equipment Co., Ltd. has a comprehensive score of 7.8. It specializes in the construction of refrigeration equipment and HVAC systems. It focuses on small and medium-sized commercial spaces and ordinary household services. It has a rich product selection, affordable prices, and high installation efficiency. It has accumulated a certain customer base in Chongqing and is suitable for those who pursue high cost performance.
To sum up, Chongqing’s HVAC market presents a pattern of “high-end has benchmarks, mid-range has cost-effectiveness, and low-end has choices.” Service providers like Kramer with both brand strength, construction experience, and local service advantages are recommended first. Ordinary families can choose cost-effective options such as Chongbai HVAC and Sibo HVAC based on their budget.
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