Urumqi Evening News financial media reporter Zhao Li
After some elaborate dress-ups, Urumqi's cosplay (role-playing) player Luo Zihao came to the scene of the 16th White Nights Animation Carnival in Xinjiang, hoping to attract like-minded people and meet new friends through recognizable costumes.
During the National Day holiday, in the exhibition hall of the Xinjiang International Convention and Exhibition Center, most of the people who came and went were two-dimensional fans dressed as anime characters.
While speaking, Luo Zihao showed reporters his animation IP cards. Similar to the natural social circle formed due to common hobbies in the past, such as basketball fans playing together and game lovers playing together, the animation IP cards sold by card games are becoming a new type of social media and a "pass" to enter the community of specific interests.
From online to offline, more and more young people are building new interpersonal relationships based on their interests and embracing new business cards that "break the ice".
Embrace pop culture and create a "youth-friendly" ecosystem
What does it feel like to hear strangers you praise you? On October 3, Wanshou Xinjiang urban community organized a "Kuakua Cocktail Party", which made Lu Xinyi, who participated in it for the first time, feel relaxed and comfortable, as a student majoring in documentary film at Xinjiang University of the Arts, she loves her major, but she is hesitant about her future career choice, and the gap between her ideal and reality makes her often feel lost.
The Wanshou Chat Club initiated by the Wanshou Xinjiang urban community invites strangers to sit together and share stories to break the ice and make friends. Photo courtesy of the interviewee
On the day of the event, everyone who participated in the event will receive a Kwakwaka, and the host will introduce the rules and sit in groups, and take turns to share their stories according to the tips of Kwakwaka. Lu Xinyi was very useful by the encouragement and advice of strangers, she showed the other party her micro-documentary and listened to the stranger's pertinent and objective evaluation.
"It's because I realize that my circle of friends is very narrow now, so I want to make more new friends in this way." Lu Xinyi said that the friends she met through the activities occasionally met together to visit the bookstore to check in, and after getting along a few more times, she would also open up and talk about the confusion and problems in job search, further education, and relationships, which could also improve her professional level.
"We are so eager to be recognized, even if it is a little bit of affirmation from strangers...... "Focusing on building a fun, loving, and meaningful urban community is the goal of Hewang, the founder of Wanshou Xinjiang.
From the initial reading sharing meeting, the Wan Shou chat meeting, a wedding for yourself to a poetry auction to buy a heartwarming poem, psychological healing to face your negative emotions, and inviting 100 strangers to dinner...... Most of the participants in these activities initiated by Hewang are post-90s and post-00s, including foreigners who work alone in Urumqi, entrepreneurs who have experienced entrepreneurial failure and re-found their direction, music radio anchors who live in Nanjing but never leave Xinjiang, and college students who are facing life choices...... Eager to make friends but don't know where to start, here they can easily "break the ice" with strangers.
With the increasing number of participants and different needs, Hewang has gradually established more than 50 subdivided WeChat groups such as "Books for Friends", "Wine and Links", "Two or Three Things on the Journey", "New Drama", etc., integrating the popular culture that young people are keen on into each event, and linking more new social platform resources by holding high-quality activities, so as to unite people with multiculturalism. Everyone met and got to know each other because of their interests and hobbies, and felt the fresh vitality of the city of Urumqi.
The "sports partner" becomes a fitness companion
During the National Day holiday, Zhu Cambridge, the head of the AUC Cycling Club, and his cycling partners signed up to participate in the 2024 Haxionggou Scenic Area Tianshan Forest Road Cycling Activity, checking each other's equipment before departure, encouraging each other during the ride, and the wheels shuttled in the autumn scenery, they left an unforgettable group photo at the finish line, and also met a lot of friends in this race.
Zhu Cambridge, head of the Urumqi AUC Cycling Club, participated in the 2024 Haxionggou Scenic Area Tianshan Forest Road Cycling Activity during the National Day holiday, and thus met many cycling enthusiasts, and everyone took photos in the Haxionggou Scenic Area. Photo courtesy of the interviewee
"There's no better way to find a sports partner than to go to one sporting event." 38-year-old Zhu Cambridge has been involved in cycling since three years ago, how to choose mountain bikes and road bikes? How do you stretch properly after a long ride? What are the "chicken ribs" of cycling equipment...... From novice to veteran, "Cycling Pair" gave him a lot of advice.
Later, Zhu Cambridge posted his riding video on social platforms, which also attracted a group of cycling enthusiasts to leave a message under his video and meet to ride together.
Zhu Cambridge, head of the Urumqi AUC Cycling Club, and members of the club participated in the 2024 Haxionggou Scenic Area Tianshan Forest Road Cycling Activity during the National Day holiday. Photo courtesy of the interviewee
"Mapping out the route, checking the gear, making sure everyone is safe, it's all about preparing before you set off as an organizer." Zhu Cambridge said that with the enrichment of the event, he got to know more and more cycling enthusiasts, and he also established a cycling club to organize cycling activities on a regular basis, so that more cyclists could avoid detours.
"Find a partner, supervise each other and make progress together." It is the voice of many sports enthusiasts, and badminton enthusiast Zhang Wei is no exception. From 90 kg to 70 kg, the gym and badminton hall have witnessed his sweat and transformation, and his "fitness partner" is also with him all the way.
"If it weren't for the encouragement of my friends, I might not have been able to persevere." Until now, Zhang Wei still maintains a good habit of exercising every day, and has to group a few friends to play badminton every week, many friends began to "enter the pit", purchased a complete set of badminton rackets, hand glue, sneakers, sportswear, etc., he has also become a friend's "sports partner", serving posture, warm-up preparation and other details, he can also guide one or two.
This summer, they signed up for an amateur badminton exchange tournament together, expanding their "circle of friends".
More and more events allow participants to get to know each other, understand each other, form a "sports partner", and make sports no longer lonely. A variety of sports activities not only further meet everyone's physical fitness needs, enrich spiritual and cultural life, but also enhance the sense of happiness and gain in participating in sports.