Americans are worried about inflation and affordability, while Chinese are worried about deflation and economic decline.
To get an idea of consumer confidence in China today, visit Beijing toy store Gaolan. There, stuffed animals with grimacing faces are sold out for the Year of the Horse.
According to state media, a factory worker accidentally sewed the toy’s smiling face upside down, making it a huge hit in China and known as the “crying horse.”
“There is so much stress in our society right now,” Gao said. “A crying horse represents the human heart.”
The horse’s popularity is just one example of the growing dark clouds in Chinese society as the economy slows and people become less uncertain about their future.
A picture taken on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, at a New Year’s goods shop in Hangzhou, eastern China’s Zhejiang province, shows two “crying horse” stuffed animals that have become an overnight sensation, initially due to a factory worker’s mistake with the mouthpieces turned upside down.
Long Wei | Featured China | Future Publishing | Getty Images
Another indicator of depression is the viral app sensation Are You Dead? “Silem” in Chinese.
In early January, an app from Beijing-based startup Moonscape Technologies topped the global charts. appleChina’s App Store. This app aims to give people who live alone the peace of mind of knowing that someone will notice if they die.
Co-founder Ian Lu told CNBC that the founders all live alone in big cities in China and understand the need to reach out to someone.
“We realized that if something happened to us, no one would notice. So we created an app for users to alert family and friends,” Lu said in an interview.
The way it works is that you check in with the app every day. If 48 hours pass without pressing the big green button on the screen, the app will send an email to your emergency contacts.
The service costs 8 yuan ($1.15 USD) per month.
Despite demand, Are You Dead? The app itself faces death as the government appears sensitive about the morbid outlook.
Shortly after its release, the app’s name drew criticism from state media, and its founders changed the name to Demumu. However, the app has since disappeared from the App Store.
This photo illustration shows the logo of the app Demumu on a smartphone screen in Suqian, Jiangsu Province, China on January 14, 2026.
VCG | Visual China Group | Getty Images
Apple told CNBC that China’s cybersecurity watchdog ordered the removal of the app because it did not follow rules to “observe public order and good morals.”
Apple added in a statement: “We follow the laws of the countries in which we operate. …This app remains available for download on all other storefronts where it appears.”
Due to China’s aging society, an increasing number of elderly people are living on their own. Additionally, many young people who migrate to urban areas for work do not have siblings or are partnered up.
China’s marriage rate in 2024 will be 4.3%, the lowest in 45 years.
One in six households in China is made up of single people, which is one of the reasons why restaurant dinners are so popular. mcdonalds It’s becoming popular.
Seating separated by partitions to ensure privacy when dining alone is not new. However, their photos went viral on social media. This design is seen as a reflection of the increasing number of Chinese people living alone.
This background of loneliness and anxiety fits perfectly into the figure of the crying horse.
“I feel very bitter and unfair,” said Xiao Fan, a customer at Gao’s toy store. “If you can’t cry out loud, this horse will cry for you.”
