"Unifying prosperity or segregated heterogeneity? An inquiry into consumption practices of leisure and appearance in China", a paper written by Tian Langyi, a recent graduate of CUHK-Shenzhen, was accepted by the 2018 Asian Conference of the International Chinese Sociological Association (ICSA). The paper was finished under the supervision of Dr. Aurélien Boucher, a lecturer in sociology at CUHK-Shenzhen. Tian will present his paper at the conference on December 19.

Graduated from CUHK-Shenzhen in 2018 as the first cohort of undergraduate students, Tian Langyi continued his study in Quantitative Methods at Columbia University. In this paper, he investigates into the potential divergence of leisure and physical appearance consumption practices, and its relevance with social distinctions and structural factors in China. By utilizing a longitudinal observation from China Family Panel Studies, Tian reassesses excess attention paid to the emerging consumer culture, and integrate not only the middle class but also other social groups to depict a full picture of stratified consumption in contemporary China.