{"id":47139,"date":"2025-07-31T09:48:48","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T09:48:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/daoinsights.com\/?p=47139"},"modified":"2025-07-31T11:56:28","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T11:56:28","slug":"village-vanguards-what-happened-to-small-town-coffee-shops-in-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/daoinsights.com\/opinions\/village-vanguards-what-happened-to-small-town-coffee-shops-in-china\/","title":{"rendered":"Village vanguards: What happened to small-town coffee shops in China?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Village caf\u00e9s, or small-town coffee shops, have been a closely monitored phenomenon in China. There are two types of coffee shops discussed here. One is mostly concentrated in lower-tier cities and larger \u201ccounty seat\u201d towns. These are sometimes chains and franchises that have expanded to catch the tea and coffee boom in China, such as Luckin and Cotti. The other, mostly in smaller towns or even villages, are independent coffee shops. Some local chains also exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image: WeChat<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Data shows that there are over 44,000 rural coffee shops and caf\u00e9s in China. <\/strong>The provinces with the most \u201cvillage coffee shops\u201d are Yunnan, Guangdong, Anhui, Henan and Zhejiang. The top two provinces, Yunnan and Guangdong, have 11,915 and 7,786 rural coffee places, respectively. This is thought to be because they are the two major origins of coffee beans in China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Business or Pleasure<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For many small towns and rural areas, coffee shops are an extension of B&Bs and \u201ccultural tourism\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Many of the coffee consumers in these rural regions are, in fact, travellers. For many small towns and rural areas, coffee shops are an extension of B&Bs and \u201ccultural tourism\u201d. For travellers, this type of tour is a \u201clighter\u201d version of camping, living in rural houses built during the Qing era and washing down local cuisine with a nice cup of coffee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image: WeChat<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This business model, however, relied heavily on in-province travel and was especially popular during the pandemic. But with travel restrictions lifted, many travellers have shifted back to longer-distance travel, both domestically and internationally. As the trend of \u201clighter\u201d lifestyle<\/a> also reached tourism, a steady niche of visitors still prefer small towns close to the cities where they work or within the same province.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local governments also see this as an opportunity to boost both travel and help small businesses<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Local governments also see this as an opportunity to boost both travel and help small businesses, with Zhongshan, Guangdong, providing rent subsidies and Zhejiang helping entrepreneurs with taxes. However, this has also led to a sense of saturation, with competition from large chains, new entrepreneurs, and even hotel lobbies pushing the market into a state of \u201cinvolution\u201d (\u5185\u5377, fruitless competition).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Shanghai Coffee Festival kicks off in time for May Day holiday<\/a><\/blockquote>