Back to the 2000s: Gen Z Embraces a Nostalgic Dreamcore in China
A New York Times feature explains Chinese Dreamcore, a Gen Z-driven online aesthetic that nostalgically reconstructs early-2000s China—from internet cafés to blue-tinted high-rises and retro brands—as a digital coping mechanism for economic anxiety and rapid tech change, while critics warn it could mask real issues or fuel existential distress.