Top 10 Chinese Memes of 2014

Breakup Buddies： Biggest Movie

By December 20， 2014， Breakup Buddies， directed by Ning Hao， was still the Chinese mainland’s highest grossing film of the year. The film starring comic actors Huang Bo and Xu Zheng premiered on September 30， 2014. The plot involves a man struggling with divorce who goes on a road trip with his best friend. The film grossed 600 million yuan （US$100 million） in its first week， setting a record for Chinese film. The Chinese comedy may be headed for English-language remake after U.S.-based IM Global acquired the international rights.

Little Apple： Most Infectious Music

A song by the Chinese duo Chopsticks Brothers， “Little Apple” was China’s most widespread internet music meme in 2014. Due to its dynamic lyrics and catchy beat， the song and its music video went viral in China soon after its premiere. The Chopsticks Brothers went on to win International Song of the Year at the 2014 American Music Awards.

WeChat： Biggest App

Released by Chinese internet giant Tencent in 2011， WeChat quickly grew from a simple instant messaging app into China’s largest social media platform， with total users surpassing 600 million around the world and 500 million in China alone. With the growing popularity of the mobile internet， WeChat is reaching for a greater range of services， evidenced by its “New Year gift” function launched for Chinese New Year 2014 and the“short video” function added to its latest 6.0 version.

New Chinese-style Outfits： Setting Trends

It has become tradition for leaders of the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation （APEC） to take a “family photo” wearing matching outfits representing the host country of each year’s APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting. The silk outfits worn by leaders at the 2014 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Beijing were dubbed “new Chinese-style outfits.” Integrating tradition and innovation， the design highlights the etiquette culture of China. The outfits for male and female leaders featured stand-up collars and buttons lining the front， decorated with sea and mountain patterns. The outfits for their female spouses adapted features of cheongsams with stand-up collars and raglan sleeves.

Vegetarianism： Health-Conscious Eating

Over the past year， Chinese dietary patterns have changed quietly， with vegetarian foods becoming increasingly popular with the public. For various reasons， Chinese people， except for monks and nuns， rarely abstained from eating meat historically. With improvements in living standards and increasing westernization of diets in recent years， more and more Chinese people suffer from health problems caused by eating habits and are conversely paying greater attention to vegetarian diets. A 2014 survey showed that two percent of China’s population identifies as vegetarian.

Air Purifiers： Hot Commodity

With growing concerns about air pollution， China’s air purifier market saw explosive growth in recent years. Sales of air purifiers totaled 14.5 billion yuan in 2014， an increase of 70 percent over the previous year. In the next five years， the Chinese air purifier market is expected to maintain a compound year-on-year growth rate of 48 percent. In this context， all big air purifier brands including Midea， Panasonic and Sharp have invested more resources to expand the market.

Wearable Devices： Fashion and Technology Converge

Wearable devices， or wearables， are miniature electronic devices worn by the bearer under， with or on top of clothing. In 2012， when Google Glass was released， wearable devices began to draw wide attention for the first time in China. By 2014， wearables had amassed a large fan base in the country. Devices such as Google Glass， Samsung Galaxy Gear， Apple Watch， and various smart bracelets have gained popularity among tech-savvy Chinese customers.

Mobile Payments： Cutting-Edge Way to Pay

On November 11， 2014， also known as “Singles’ Day，” the Chinese e-commerce behemoth Alibaba realized online sales of 57.1 billion yuan via its Taobao.com and Tmall.com sites， setting another record for Singles’ Day sales. The same day， competing ecommerce giants including Amazon.cn and JD.com also saw their sales soar. With the rapid increase in online shopping numbers， mobile payments have become the inevitable next step， and the statistics confirm it： About 197 million Singles’ Day transactions on Tmall.com were paid via mobile payment， an increase of 336 percent over the previous year. In the mobile internet era， increasing numbers of customers make purchases and pay with mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.

Overseas Online Shopping： Buying Foreign Products at Home

Overseas online shopping refers to the purchase of foreign products directly from foreign e-commerce websites instead of via import dealers. In China， foreign products are considered “more reliable，” and can be purchased less expensively directly from overseas online shopping websites than from Chinese domestic retailers. This is the major reason more and more Chinese people choose to directly purchase via overseas websites. However， doing so requires that the buyer obtain certain foreign language skills， as well as knowledge of shipping and international logistics. Therefore， the trend is primarily driven by youngsters with better educational backgrounds. And females outnumber males. The majority are young mothers purchasing foreign snacks， diapers， baby formula， and toys.

Light Decoration： Environmentally-Friendly Trend

In 2014， home decoration styles featuring simplicity returned to cities. Many don’t decorate new apartments with complicated ornaments such as plaster ceilings， but retain original walls. Light decoration can not only make an apartment or house look spacious and neat， but also leave room for its owner to place furniture more freely. Moreover， it is a more environmentally friendly way to decorate.