Chengdu Spent National Day Queuing to Make Things

Chengdu's malls were busy over the National Day holiday, and much of the crowd came to make things. Around Chunxi Road and Wannianchang, young visitors lined up for perler-bead art, scent blending, pottery, cake decorating and silversmithing workshops, Sichuan Daily reported.

At around 2pm on Oct. 6, the paper found queues outside the DIY shops in the Parkson mall (时代百盛) on Chunxi Road. Women were blending their own fragrances at a perfume bar, and one couple said they had come to make matching rings after seeing a popular video online of people wearing rings on both hands. "It's different from just buying something," they said. "You get the experience, and a special memory."

Xia Shujun, general manager of the company that runs the mall, said the mall's footfall rose 16% year on year from Oct. 1 to 5. Pet experiences, archery, immersive games, murder-mystery rooms and escape rooms also kept people in the building longer. Young shoppers now buy a lifestyle more than just clothes, Xia said, and experiences that are fun and easy to photograph and share come first.

Outside on the street, the mall's naked-eye 3D billboard played animated pandas and Sichuan opera face-changing clips through the holiday.