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Discussion keeps the world turning. This is Roundtable. Schools out, exams done, now Gen Z is in the driver's seat. Literally, from AI-powered driving lessons to graduation discounts on gadgets and trips, businesses are cashing in on the summer rush.
In this moment of past or let's say post-exam freedom, what do these choices say about a generation ready to steer their own future? Coming to you live from Beijing, this is Roundtable. I'm He Yang. For today's program, I'm joined by Steve Hatherly and Yu Shun. First on today's show.
You know what's one of the best parts of passing your end-of-year exams this time of the year? It means summer vacation is finally kicking off. For all students, and especially high school graduates, it's time to celebrate. After surviving the grueling National College Entrance Examination, also known as the Gaokao, many are diving into a whole new set of summer plans. Enrolling in driving school to get their driver's license,
Traveling, shopping for the perfect new laptop, or even booking LASIK or other vision correction procedures. After all, you want to start college looking and feeling your best, right?
Exams are finally over. And like clockwork, driving schools are flooded with students eager to get behind the wheel. So what do we know about these surging numbers this time? Oh, yeah. So driving schools nationwide are seeing surge of student enrollments, especially after the period of lockdown.
after the examination of gaokao or these huge examinations so are they seeing a surge in radio announcer uh sign ups as well because you were doing that recently too yes um yeah of course um but that i i didn't mean to throw you off i joined the group of a bunch of college students but but of course um
And it is quite hard to get sign up for some of my lessons, to be honest. So I also got affected, to be true. I apologize for interrupting. Please continue.
Anyway, this registration numbers have jumped significantly compared to regular periods. And CCTV News reported that recent high school graduates making up over 90% of new signups and some schools are launching exclusive graduation offers such as extended class hours, VR simulation lessons, and AI-powered training vehicles to enhance students.
and attract more learners. Yeah, I guess it makes sense, right? Exam period's finished into vacation time now, and when you have that amount of free time, then it is the perfect time to sign up to get your driver's license. 90%, you said, are recent high school graduates, so good luck to all those students. Times have changed, haven't they? I remember when I got my driver's license, I
I remember the practice sessions with the driving instructor. I don't know if they do this here in China, but in Canada...
So I sit in the driver's seat, right, of course, and then the teacher sits in the passenger's seat, but there's a break in the passenger. Yeah, okay, it's the same thing then, right? And I just remember making the odd mistake and suddenly the teacher would be like, and the car would come to a screeching halt. But now, VR simulation lessons? What? That's cool. AI-powered training vehicles? Awesome. It's a different experience now, I guess. Yeah, I actually had that kind of experience, and I would say it definitely...
First of all, calm a lot of first learners down because if it was past time, you have to sit in the real car for holding the wheel, right? And it just intimidates me. But if I'm sitting in... It's a simulator and I can drive through that kind of app. It's like a driving game. Yeah. So it's so much easier for a lot of...
first learners to get adapt to that kind of mode or sensei or mindset of learning how to drive. Yeah. Kind of adjustment a little bit. Yeah. And so did we come
we kind of insinuate that you should, Oh, actually you shouldn't have shared on the show in a previous episode. I brought it up that he's taking some driving lessons and a little bird told me that, uh, somebody has been struggling to sign up for lessons because suddenly all these students, they have the time to compete to sort of, uh, get the cars, get the training cars and the driver instructors time. And, uh,
this working dude, he's just really struggling to sign up for these classes. Find an open spot. Yeah, that kind of thing. And when I went to get my driver's license, and usually, I think the vast majority of Chinese people would go to a driver's school to learn how to drive before...
the test with flying colors, hopefully. And that was almost at least 15 years ago for me. And I remember the driving schools used to be kind of messy conduct.
I remember it was regular to slip in a bribe, which would be a box of cigarettes. And I hated it because I don't smoke and already paid a few thousand yuan for this package of, let's say, 20 driving lessons. And on top of that, I'm expected to slip the cigarette box to the...
driver coach who smelled poorly. And as a young woman being in that closed environment with a stranger is something I don't like to start with. And then with those shabby practices, which was common,
It was just a horrible experience for a lot of people, I would think. But that has changed. Yeah, that's what I want to say. That used to be the impression and...
Kind of a custom of getting into a driving school, right? You need to even sometimes bribe the coach. Sorry, can I just add one point? And you would think, like, why would you need to bribe that person? Since you already paid for the tuition, right? I still didn't get it. Maybe sometimes you need this coach to...
They will give you extra time to practice sometimes. And maybe before the exact exam that you're going to take, you can have a couple of rounds to go with the car that you're going to use. Yeah, special attention. And also, this is a horrible stereotype, but...
It maybe rings true to a certain extent. Like, let's say for me, a young woman back then, and I have never played any of those car video games, nor have I sat in a simulator of the driving experience, which is pretty common these days.
It was just very new to me. And also I was just I was intimidated as well. And I hated the experience of sitting in that small closed environment with the kids.
a man that was like reeking of cigarette odor. Partially your fault. You provided those. And the really gross part of it was that you felt you were compelled to do it because otherwise this man could be shouting at you. You could be receiving very poor teaching attitude and you're already scared enough to
behind the wheel. And you know that if you don't drive well, then we're talking about life and death on the street. Okay, I might be a little dramatic, but I think it's important to drive responsibly. Anyhow, so, but it's good to see that the driving experience or this driving or the teaching procedure is more standardized now. And also, I'd say just, you know,
Report when you feel it is right, the right thing to do, because I remember walking away from my driving lessons feeling such a coward because at the time already we saw that you can report for poor practices. But because I feared that the...
the coach would retaliate or something. So I didn't report. And then I don't know why all of a sudden on today's show, the memory floodgates just opened and then I let it out on national radio. I don't think I've told anybody this story before, but anyhow. So now it seems like there's a robust report system and people can guard their rights. And I hope that people are more outspoken about that.
this now. And it will be more effective when the whole platforms and the whole industry is more standardized. And I was just, you know, talking about this with my friend the other day, driving school instructors have long had that kind of reputation, right? And
They're always yelling at you, making the learning experience pretty miserable. It's interesting because if you watch Hollywood movies or American dramas, the same types of stereotypes kind of exist. They tend to be an intimidating person and they're never happy. But, you know, these are stereotypes. Anyway, let's talk some more statistics, shall we?
Jingzhou, they have around 270 driving schools and they are actively recruiting students from January to May this year. This is proof of how busy it gets this time of year. Each month saw an average of 20,000 students, not from January to May. Every month saw an average of 20,000. And then in June, and again, it's the summer learning peak, enrollment is expected to exceed 50,000 students.
And you said already that 90% of those numbers are made up by students. So there's lots of demand this time of year. I guess it's a fun slash stressful experience for students, and it's probably the busiest time of year for the instructors as well. One driving school in the area I just mentioned, they've introduced...
AI-driven robots and a smart teaching platform. And with that system, a single instructor, and this is totally different from before too, a single teacher can monitor and guide 10 different training cars. Simultaneously, they can do that from a central control station. So I guess what that means is it's making the process a lot more streamlined and a lot more efficient. Yes, and it's completely...
from where we have that kind of impression to the driving school. Yeah, and summer isn't just a big moment for getting your driver's license. It's also prime time to travel. This year, graduation travels,
And family trips are definitely stealing the spotlight. This summer, traveling China is booming, and especially among families and also recent graduates. Domestic trips are seeing a surge with popular destinations like Chengdu, Incheon,
In southwest China, Hangzhou, in eastern China, and Sanya, the tropical island, attracting young travelers, while family-led travel now makes up over 60% of bookings, focusing on more immersive and educational experiences.
I never got to do that, and I kind of regret it. You know, when my best friend graduated from high school, and I'm not giving this as a piece of advice, by the way, to students out there. It's just what my best friend did. He decided to take six months before going to university and travel around Europe with a backpack. Yeah.
Wow. And he invited me to go with him. And I said, no, because I have to go straight to university and graduate and get a job and do all the things that you're supposed to do. Looking back, I don't usually regret things, but that's one of my biggest regrets. He had an amazing time. So travel is definitely an exciting thing for students when they graduate, isn't it? Mm-hmm.
But you also got the experience of, you know, learning. Yeah, that's true. And I did the traveling later, I suppose we could say. What's interesting here, too, is that young travelers between the ages of 17 and 19, they're showing quite different preferences when it comes to their destinations. A lot of the popular cities in the country are.
are popular on social media. So social media is helping to drive the interest in these destinations. And then you've got your big spots like Beijing and Xi'an and Nanjing. The students that are interested in having a rich historical or cultural journey will visit those spots.
And also, this is information from a domestic travel wholesaler. The number of summer travelers has already surged by 70% compared to the period last year. Bookings for both visa-free international destinations, domestic hotspots, they're still pouring in as we're having this conversation right now. So this summer is going to be one of the hottest seasons travel-wise that we've had in a while, I guess. Also, in this way, international travel is on the rise, right? Thanks to
easier visa access and more flights with high demand for both short haul spots like Japan and long haul destinations like the UK and Nordic countries. And less traditional destinations such as Kenya, Chile and Cuba are gaining popularity as well as travelers increasingly seek their unique and personalized experiences through going to these countries.
And there are also new travel trends among young Chinese people who are traveling smarter. And that means going to places without paying more. Yeah, this is called a boomerang flight. And it's a really kind of intelligent way, I think, to go about your travel. So it's kind of a trick.
That's becoming really popular, especially with students on their summer break. So what it is, is instead of flying directly to your destination, they'll book a flight with a long layover or an extra stop so that you can visit more cities along the way. And the biggest bonus is it's cheaper now.
You can save about 500 to 700 yuan, or that's about 70 to 100 dollars per ticket. It's more fun, and you kind of get two trips for the price of one, right? So what that would look like is, let's say you were going to, I don't know, pick any city. Pick a city. I actually considered doing this when we were going away. Let's say that you're going to Thailand somewhere, but you don't fly directly to Thailand. You stop in...
Shanghai for a 72 hour layover or something. That's exactly what I did. Oh, did you really? Yeah, but we stopped in Chengdu for one night. Okay, and it totally added to the experience, yeah? Absolutely, and we had the chance to maybe get a little taste of Chengdu, right? Not that much time, but we...
still had a chance to go through the city center, right, and experience the Chengdu style. And you saved a bit of money too, yeah? Of course. Yeah, well, that's called indirect flights, right? Like international travel, that is pretty common. But what's kind of new here is that domestic flights or air flights
These airlines are sort of capitalizing on this as well, creating these routes that you can stop at a, you know, for a layover for maybe 24 hours at another Chinese city. And this is domestic traveling. And then people are rejoicing because this sometimes means that the flight ticket is actually cheaper with this boomerang kind of thing.
flight than, let's say, getting a ticket of high-speed rail to travel from A to C, basically. But now you also get to stop at the B place. B in the middle. Yeah. And yeah, it's kind of, like I said, it's a huge bonus because it's seemingly an inconvenience, a long layover. But hey, if you've got the time, then why not use it? Yes, absolutely. And apart from...
from traveling. What else are people spending this summer? I would think that if you're a young person and finally you've graduated from high school and it's maybe a good time to ask mom and dad to give you that bright, new, shiny laptop.
Maybe earbuds as well. Headphones. I mean, there are plenty of electronics that I think it's the right time to ask mom and dad to get you. I think you just named two of the big three, right? Purchasing time.
Many brands actually run their own promotions during this season. Back to school time, 返校季, or they will offer special educational discounts for graduate students or students, basically. And when it comes to electronics, the market is stretching in both directions. On one end, soon-to-be college students are going all out with their business.
Big three back to school buys, phones, laptops, and tablets. Those are the big three. Yeah. And with price tags now easily hitting 10,000 yuan for all of them, that's about $1,400.
On the other hand, smart tech is gaining traction among kids and young adults. Smart watches, learning devices, and reading pens. That means you go through all of the lines with that electronic pen and it will read it out. And you can maybe learn English words from these learning devices. There's a speaker on the pen? It is. I've not heard of this before.
Yeah, and these things are becoming go-to purchases and making new growth in the summer economy as a whole. Yeah, well, this is kind of like getting ahead with the back-to-school purchases, I think, but sometimes...
you kind of need to work your way with mom and dad because a lot of this stuff is really expensive. Of course, yeah. And that reading pen, I don't have a child now, but good luck convincing me if one day I do have a child and she or he is asking, Mom, I need, like, what, $200 to get a reading pen? I just feel that, you know, the, well, soon-to-be young adult probably will only...
use it for one semester or less and just throw it aside? I actually saw the potential of these kind of equipment. The scenario that I saw is that the parents do not that...
familiar with English or English words, and then the kids need to learn English, and they can learn through this, and they can read it out. And that's at least the correct and standardized pronunciation for kids. And that's quite easy and convenient to use. Yeah, because you could learn the proper pronunciation there, I guess, right? And also how time has changed. I can't remember when, but at least for...
a decade or more. Electronics have become the popular thing that young people want when they go to college.
Back in the day, well, maybe this is just, you know, the advancement of technology. Because back in the day, for my parents' generation, of course, there was really no computers around or internet back then. And then, you know, it was just, you would never have imagined this kind of thing become the standard sort of gift to have or sort of like the default equipment you need to go attend college, you know. But now this is...
what it's like in all schools around China, I suppose. Yeah, and a long time ago, you go to the computer shop, you have to give a pack of cigarettes to the computer guy so he can... No? Well, that was restricted to the driving schools. That's a good thing, I suppose. Classes, too, have become popular. There's an interest...
during this time of year in things like music and art and sports. And also, thanks to popular ancient-style dramas, traditional Chinese instruments. Those are making a big comeback, apparently, as well. Then you've got your practical skills that are hot, like video editing, office software. Peer-to-peer learning is trending. Kids are forming groups to learn together, which is a really fun thing. I love the
the video editing, that kind of office software learning, I think that's a really great tool for kids to acquire if they haven't acquired it already as they're getting ready for their university years, just with so much social media influence and seemingly everything these days.
Yeah, and it can be very helpful when you're getting college with all of that skills because you don't know what kind of form you are going to have for your class or subject. Yeah, well, this sounds like those parents who are very well-intentioned and they want their kids to plan ahead and maybe some of these kids or teenagers or the students, they want to plan ahead as well. They want to sign up.
Well, maybe some of them would want this. Not all, obviously. I remember I just wanted to have fun during the holiday time. But yes, some of them want to study ahead of time or at least be prepared with these practical skills like you guys have mentioned. And also for those who want to study abroad, you know, not necessarily for the...
high school graduates, but for younger teenagers as well, you know, sometimes they would attend language prep courses, getting them ready for TOEFL and IELTS and other, are there other, maybe mainly these are the two big ones, English language examinations. And also there's one other aspect which can really divide people's opinion on that is the beauty of
economy and what does this entail i suppose upgrade your looks yeah i think uh it also make the same make sense at the same way as people like apply for driving school because they have a huge bunch of time for no matter it's recovering or just hiding at home because you may need to
Do some makeover for your face. Maybe get your braces. Is that what it's called? Yeah. Get your braces. To fix your teeth. Yeah. And maybe get some other...
Alteration on your face. Facial alterations. Okay. Get the, what's that called? Your eyelashes? Double eyelashes. Yeah, the eyelid thing. Or LASIK.
Or the vision correction surgery or procedure. So you can go attend college without your glasses. Yeah, I think I'm not sure if this is true in China, but from my experience of living in Korea, where schools will often have restrictions on how much freedom students can have in terms of their own self-expression, like hair color, dyeing their hair pink or purple.
or green or whatever. Oh, that, yes. Yeah, makeup and accessories. So I think after high school, when you have that, you know, you're a palette. You're an empty canvas and a palette, so to speak. So I think that's why it's a popular time for students to kind of show who they are a little bit through their... Experiment. It's the best. It's the best time to be a young person. I really like that...
metaphor you used of, you know, being the blank canvas and in China, usually high school can be pretty strict in terms of student management. So in a lot of schools, in the name of not creating extra distractions for students,
the students are asked to all have the same haircut and really short haircut. And I know some girls, you know, they've been waiting for this time to finally, when the restrictions lifted and you're,
becoming a young adult and dye your hair pink or something like that and, you know, experiment. And that's a great feeling. And we all go through these colorful phases, or I hope you do, because I think and then gradually you'll know what kind of person you are and want to be. And that and what color suits you. Yeah. And I went back to black. Yeah.