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Middle Kingdom, Middle Class

CHINA | Monday, 10 June 2013 | Views [1188]

Evolving fashion: A bridal fashion shoot takes place on The Bund, Shanghai. Traditionally, Chinese brides wore red, a colour associated with luck and prosperity. The colour white, symbolising death and mourning, was considered taboo. Nowadays, white, western-style dresses are popular as a symbol of middle class status and progressive ideals.

Tags: china, shanghai, fashion

Consumer goods boom: Chinese tourists capture the lowering of the flag in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, on their smartphones. China has over one billion mobile phone subscribers, making it the world's largest mobile phone market. About 80% of the population uses a mobile phone, and about 45% of the population has internet access. Demand from the burgeoning middle class recently led China to surpass the US as the world's leading consumer of smartphones.

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Evolving music: Fusing Mandarin lyrics with the musical sounds of the West, a Chinese rock band rehearses in one of Beijing's historic hutong houses. Facilitated by increasing access to the internet and international travel, China's middle class has unprecedented exposure to a world of cultural influences. This is creating new and unique forms of cultural output that join elements of East and West.

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