Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, June 11 (Xinhua) — China’s first non-standard gym will soon open in the east Chinese city of Shanghai, where not people but their pets will improve their health!
In an advertising post published on the official account of the GOGOGYM fitness club on the popular Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu /Rednote/, a video is captured of several dogs exercising on special treadmills.
According to the fitness club employee, the pets will be provided with exercise machines such as a treadmill, a pool, an underwater treadmill, ground exercise machines, etc., which are not inferior to exercise machines for people.
Although such gyms for companion animals have long appeared in Russia, they remain a “novelty” in China. The industry is new, but promising.
A report by US investment bank Goldman Sachs says that in 2024, the number of pets in China will exceed the number of children under four for the first time. It also expects that by 2030, this figure will be twice as high.
For reference, there were 73.4 million infants and toddlers under the age of four in China in 2021, but that number has declined in recent years due to declining birth rates.
However, compared with the data from the China Pet Industry White Paper for 2025, Goldman Sachs’ calculations were quite conservative.
The white paper noted that the number of pets in urban areas in China alone will reach 120 million in 2024, and the consumer market size for pet dogs and cats in Chinese cities and towns will exceed 300 billion yuan (about 41.8 billion US dollars) by the end of 2024, an increase of 7.5 percent year on year.
The latest data released by China’s Ministry of Housing, Urban-Rural Development showed that China’s urban population was about 930 million in 2023, meaning that on average, one in eight urban residents, regardless of age or gender, had a pet.
Enterprising entrepreneurs will not miss such a business opportunity, so much so that a trendy term in modern Chinese social media and media has emerged: the pet economy. This sector covers a wide range of products and services, including pet food, healthcare, grooming, insurance, and even luxury goods.
In ancient China, it was believed that the most important thing for a person is food. This saying also applies to pets. Currently, “pet cafeterias” have opened in major cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Wuhan, etc.
According to Chen Ruiqi, an employee at one of the “pet canteens” in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, central China, the canteen sells fresh food and light meals, including dried chicken, lollipops, pizza with cheese and sausage, and even cakes.
According to a customer surnamed Wang, her cat really liked the duck meat from this cafeteria. “My cat eats everything at every meal. Although the prices of the products here are higher than those of regular food, I don’t have to worry about the quality and safety because I can watch the cooking process,” she explained.
Each type of fresh food in the canteen is labeled with the recommended age of the pet and the calorie content. There are also “weight loss recipes” for different pets.
In addition, owners can order a cake for their pet’s birthday in the canteen. Those who wish can organize a corresponding party here.
In recent years, a new profession has emerged in China – dog sitter, which almost no one had heard of ten years ago. Simply put, these are “pet nannies” who take care of an animal while its owner is away from home. They look after the pet, walk it, feed it strictly according to the veterinarian’s recommendations, play, and also provide comfort.
Since around 2019, this profession has started to gain more and more popularity, attracting those who enjoy a flexible work schedule. For many, providing pet feeding services at home on weekends or holidays has become an ideal way to earn extra income simply by spending time with cats and dogs.
In 2023, 25-year-old Bai Xiao, working in the financial sector in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing, turned her love of animals into a side hustle. She offered pet-sitting services through online platforms and quickly built a loyal clientele.
Each session with a pet sitter lasts about 45 minutes. She feeds the pets, cleans up after them, plays with them and documents the entire work process with photos and videos in real time, sending information to the owners.
The holidays bring a surge in requests for services. During the May Day holiday this year, Bai Xiao worked from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day, with almost no breaks between visits. She earns 60 to 100 yuan (US$8.30 to US$13.90) per session.
The growth of the pet industry is apparently driven by high demand. As of the end of 2024, the number of pet owners in Chinese cities and towns was nearly 77 million. More than 70 percent of these owners belong to the post-80s and post-90s generations.
This raises the question: “Why do young people in China love pets so much?” In addition, some experts point out that a pet replaces a child for many.
According to Chinese psychologist Gao Aihua, due to the fast pace and high intensity of work in modern society, many young people face the problem of emotional isolation. They often feel lonely.
“Animals help to cope with anxiety and loneliness. They can reduce the level of stress received at work and in society. A wagging tail and a funny gait at the end of a hard day is good therapy,” he said.
And as Li Junpeng, deputy director of the Institute of Sociology at Central China Normal University, noted, in modern Chinese society, instead of large families, small ones dominate, which emphasize an independent personality. Many single young people or small families consider pets as an “additional” family member.
“Therefore, pet owners take responsibility for their care and pay for various goods and services based on their warm feelings for their pets,” the sociologist explained.
He concluded that today, pet-oriented consumption is already “personified” and covers the entire life cycle of pets. “Pets are no longer just “objects for feeding,” but are becoming “family members,” he emphasized.
For example, services such as cremation, ashes storage, post-mortem care, and funeral services are now widely available. According to Chinese business information platform Tianyancha, more than 1,100 new pet funeral companies have emerged in the past six months alone.
However, experts also warned that pets would ultimately not replace family and community ties, and that the sector’s development needed to be regulated.
Xiao Beiying, an associate professor at Huaqiao University, noted that the relationship between people and pets is different from the relationship between people themselves, which is more complex.
Deputy head of the China Pet Industry Association Yan Jinsheng highlighted issues such as outdated policies and gaps in legislation, stressing the need for positive public discussion and the implementation of relevant policies and regulations to ensure the sustainable and healthy growth of China’s pet economy. -0-