农村家庭在孩子身上的花费

Experts say that urban Chinese parents spend 25,000 yuan, or about 4,000 US dollars, per year, on average, on their children.

These little ones under the age of 16 are becoming a force of domestic consumption. But let’s not forget the 110 million rural children, as they account for half of China’s children population. Visiting a village in Hebei Province, our reporter Feng Xin spotlights the consumption disparity between urban and rural children, and explores what kind of potential the rural market holds.

Toys -- they are often children’s best friends.

Toy producers say they see a highly fragmented market. While children in first- and second-tier Chinese cities spend a couple of thousand yuan each year on toys on average, the picture looks very different in the countryside.

There are no statistics about the size of rural children’s consumption, but industry experts estimate it’s only a third of urban children’s spending. And most of it still gets spent in counties and towns.

In this small town of 1,600 people in China’s Northeast Hebei Province, children’s items are popular at markets and specialized shops.

But when it comes to the villages, there’s little toy shopping, let alone any children related businesses. The toys and books children play and read either come from their parents working in the cities, or they simply do not exist.

The village chief told me half of the children living in this village - there are about 100 of them - are what we call “left behind children," their parents seek jobs in cities as migrant workers. They are just a small representative of the 60 million left-behind children in Chinese rural areas.

Eight-year-old Xiaolei spends 35 yuan, or 6 dollars, a week. This covers all his boarding fees at school, transportation and various expenses. His father works as a construction worker in Beijing, earning a living for a family of five. The last time Xiaolei saw him was two months ago.

Industry insiders say most parts of the children’s industry is not yet sufficiently linked to the logistics sector.

Industry experts say they believe children’s industry is fundamentally a cultural industry. Although the sector poses huge business opportunities in hard economic times, culture needs long-term nurturing, just like kids.