In Guanyinqiao Pedestrian Street, Chongqing, anime culture enthusiasts gather in the surrounding LIVE commercial district; In Beicang Cultural and Creative Park, emerging formats such as independent bookstores, designer boutiques, and accounting stores attract a large number of young people to check in and stop; In the coffee training classroom of Monument to the people's Liberation Business District, coffee lovers get together to learn skills such as hand pulled flowers... Each vivid scene shows a new economic form - "youth economy". What is the 'youth economy'? Scholars have proposed that young people should be the main body and core consumer group for innovation and entrepreneurship, with the main goal of meeting their growth and development needs and the demand for a better life, including but not limited to trendy cultural and creative activities, interest circles, experiential social activities, healthy living activities, knowledge empowerment activities, and digital entertainment activities. The new lifestyle drives new consumption into the Monument to the people's Liberation Business District, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, and the rich coffee aroma permeates the skyscrapers. As the consumption core area of Chongqing and even the western region, there are nearly 200 coffee shops per square kilometer here. The coffee training classroom in the business district is also a popular immersive consumption check-in spot for many young people. Students can not only systematically learn production techniques such as latte art, extraction, and baking, but also obtain the "Coffee Enthusiast" certificate. A college student who came to experience it said, "I posted a short video of myself grinding coffee on my social media and immediately received many likes from my friends." From "simply having a cup of coffee" to "enjoying a period of time," urban cafes have already surpassed selling drinks themselves and become the "third space" for young people to relax and expand their social circle. According to the industry trend research report of Cushman&Wakefield Consulting, among the main groups of urban coffee consumption in southwest China, the consumption proportion of the 26-35 age group is up to 67.4%, and nearly 50% of coffee consumers consume 3-5 cups a week. In Yuzhong District, the density of coffee shops ranks first in Chongqing, and the scale of the coffee and tea beverage industry in the whole district exceeds 3 billion yuan. Not only that, "cave coffee", "rooftop coffee" and other "coffee+" scenes that integrate the characteristics of mountain cities have also become new landmarks in Chongqing's cultural and tourism industry, driving the linkage of cultural and creative exhibitions, light food catering, homestay reservations, live streaming check-in and other surrounding businesses, forming a "coffee+" consumption ecological chain. In addition to the pleasure on their tongues, young people are also willing to go to a 'theatrical appointment'. Not long ago, the classic play "Doll's House" adapted by Chongqing Theatre was staged in a small theater. In the audience seats just a stone's throw away from the stage, most of them are young faces. The creators stated that when redesigning the script, they took into account the spatial characteristics of the small theater performance, and brought the stage closer to the audience by adding narrative paragraphs, allowing actors to communicate directly with the audience, and stepping out of character interactions. The integration of live projection and live performance has further broken the traditional form of theatrical expression. Compared to large theaters, I prefer small theaters as they offer more interactive performances. ”A young audience member said. In recent years, small theater formats such as drama, musicals, talk shows, and immersive performances have been highly favored by young people due to their unique emotional value and strong interactive experiences. According to a report released by the China Performance Industry Association in conjunction with relevant organizations, the post-2000 generation accounts for over 23% of the ticket buying audience for immersive performances, musicals, and talk shows. Young people aged 25-29 have become the main audience for comedy and suspense dramas. Young people's consumption behavior tends to be personalized, experiential, and social, and they are more willing to pay for experiences, emotions, and social circles. The new lifestyle creates new consumption scenarios and becomes an important increment in driving the growth of youth consumption. ”Deng Jing, Director and Researcher of the Institute of Urban and Regional Economics at Chongqing Academy of Social Sciences, said. The "golden ideas" bring new forms of work. Currently, a large number of emerging industries led by young people are rapidly rising. The youth group is no longer limited to traditional professions, but is transforming their imaginative ideas into new ways of working and career forms. At the short drama shooting base in Liangjiang New District, Chongqing, nearly a thousand film crews are received every year, with more than 10 crews shooting simultaneously every day, producing over 700 short dramas annually. 28 year old Ren Shuo serves as the director of a short drama project for an MCN company. Chinese short dramas are going global in large quantities, with particularly fast growth in Southeast Asia and Europe and America. In Ren Shuo's view, for young people, the new trend of micro dramas not only provides broad creative and employment opportunities, but also a new platform for them to quickly realize their self-worth and showcase their innovative talents. Malt Media is an MCN organization in Chongqing. After the rise of micro dramas, Malt Media quickly entered the short drama track. There are more than 2000 employees here, with an average age of less than 26 years old. From screenwriters, post production to operations, they are the "special forces" in the short drama industry. The "2025 Micro Drama Practitioner Ecological Survey" shows that micro drama practitioners are showing a clear trend of youthfulness, with over 70% of respondents being under the age of 30. The micro drama industry can not only create new job opportunities, but also effectively activate cultural and tourism consumption. Taking the Liangjiang New Area as an example, within six months, the old street of Shuitu received over 200 film crews, directly driving cultural and tourism consumption? Exceeding 16 million yuan?. At night, thousands of drones soar into the sky over the two rivers and four banks of Chongqing at the same time. Accompanied by the rhythm of music and the alternation of light and dark, they sometimes stack up high-rise buildings and transform into dragons circling around... The drones' painting 'in the night sky owes much to the flight planners behind them. Lu Zixiang, born in 1995, is a drone swarm flight planner who has been deeply involved in this industry for nearly five years. He was deeply involved in the entire process of drone performance, from rigorous site surveying and signal evaluation, to 3D digital modeling, and even writing every idea into a flight "script". The rapid development of the industry also urgently requires more passionate young people to join, explore more possibilities together, and make this career better, "said Lu Zixiang. In July 2025, drone swarm flight planners were recognized as a new profession by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. Since the establishment of the new occupational information release system in 2019, as of July 2025, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security has released a total of 110 new occupations in seven batches. According to data from the Chongqing Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, since 2019, 59000 people aged 16 to 35 in Chongqing have participated in the skill talent evaluation for related new professions, of which 46000 have obtained relevant evaluation certificates. Mo Yuanming, a researcher at the Chengdu Chongqing Economic Circle Construction Research Institute of Chongqing Technology and Business University, believes that the creativity and creativity of young people are becoming catalysts and driving forces for innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as the key to the sustained vitality of the "youth economy". The two-way travel between cities and youth provides a stage for young people to enter the city, and young people inject vitality into the city. In recent years, more and more places have recognized the enormous potential released by the "youth economy" and actively laid out plans to cultivate it. In February of this year, "Developing Youth Economy" was included in the work report of the Sichuan Provincial Government. In the same month, the "15th Five Year Plan" outline of Shanghai clearly proposed to promote the construction of 24-hour "young power" units and youth development oriented blocks, parks, and communities as an important step to accelerate the construction of a youth development oriented city. In its "15th Five Year Plan" outline, Chongqing also proposed to continuously unleash the consumption vitality of the youth group, build urban IP systems such as "8D Magic", vigorously develop new forms of youth economy such as trendy entertainment economy and "guzi economy", and cultivate and strengthen new forms of youth economy such as e-sports consumption, cultural and creative consumption, and emotional consumption. Under the guidance of policies, a batch of new carriers suitable for youth entrepreneurship are accelerating their implementation. The One Person Company (OPC) industrial community for artificial intelligence in Liangjiang New Area, Chongqing, is an entrepreneurial platform designed for young people, which can achieve "ready entry". By integrating industrial resources, providing policy support, and creating a collaborative ecosystem, the park helps "one person company" entrepreneurs overcome challenges such as fighting alone, weak resource integration capabilities, and poor risk resistance. With the development and popularization of artificial intelligence technology, the lowering of technological barriers has brought OPC mode from concept to reality. ”Tan Faxiang, the head of the Production Promotion Department of Chongqing Liangjiang New Area Industrial Operation Co., Ltd., which is responsible for the construction of OPC industry communities, believes that traditional park entrepreneurship requires venues, teams, and funds. Many individuals with technology and creativity cannot overcome this barrier, while OPC can achieve "single work" through AI intelligent agents. This lightweight entrepreneurship new model lowers the threshold for entrepreneurship to the lowest level and becomes a soil for nurturing the "youth economy". The new generation of entrepreneurs value flexibility and autonomy more, and do not want to be constrained by traditional teams or venues. This model perfectly meets their needs, and cities can also attract young talents to stay as a result. ”Tan Faxiang stated that OPC has a small scale and fast transformation, and can focus on more segmented fields, contributing a lot of technology and creativity to industrial upgrading. Good winds still require borrowing. To further unleash the vitality of the 'youth economy', efforts should be made to shift from scenario consumption to industry co creation, reconstruct the two-way relationship between cities and youth, further enhance the accuracy of policy support, continuously optimize the market environment, build a good industrial ecology, make young people become 'partners' of new urban formats, embed creativity into the industrial chain, and create value in solving real urban needs. ”Deng Jing stated. (Looking into the New Era)