This is How China’s Post-90s Let Off Steam, Escape Reality, and Test Their Significant Others

In the past summer, a super popular reality TV show is Great Escape II (密室大逃脱第二季). The TV show is about scary escape rooms. Participants choose different topics and are guided to real rooms to start their horrifying journey. The game needs inference and physical energy as there are zombies breaking out or chasing after the contestants. It needs courage as well. 

Escape rooms are one of post-95’s favorite activities

But people don’t just like to watch shows about escape rooms, they like to visit them in real life. According to a report published by Meituan (美团), among post-95s’ favourite entertainment activities, room escape ranks #3. In fact, the amount of people purchasing escape room tickets on Meituan has grown 98.1% year over year.

And these tickets aren’t cheap – one of the most popular rooms in Beijing is 368 RMB ($55) for two hours. 

Using escape rooms to escape reality

People often visit escape rooms in the evening after 7pm. Some want to make it more exciting and choose to play after midnight. Post-90s and 95s love it so much because they are under so much work pressure, and playing the game allows them to escape from reality and show who they really are. They don’t have to put on a serious face anymore, they can shout, scream and cry, and laugh of course. It is called Escape Room, and people are using it to escape from the harsh reality of life. 

Horror-themed escape rooms are the most popular

Since many people are turning to escape rooms to distract them from daily pressures, they often turn to the most exciting theme to play, which is the horror theme.

According to Dazhong Dianping (大众点评), horror-themed escape rooms are among the top 5 escape room themes in most major cities throughout China such as Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Chongqing,

Testing your significant other

People are also joking that this game is good for testing a relationship. An escape room owner says some boys seem quite strong and brave when they enter the room, but in fact, when the zombie shows up, they even run faster than their girlfriends, or they use their girlfriends to cover themselves. Some players find love by playing the game and some are not so lucky, they break up afterwards. 

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