In this combo photo, beef processor Ma Xueling (1st L) and her children greet her husband who works outside via a telephone in Xinglong Township of Xiji County in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in 1996 (L, photo taken by Liu Quanlong), and visitors try smart phones at the first China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan Province, May 8, 2021 (photo taken by Guo Cheng). Chinese buzzword "sandajian" refers to the "big three" items idolized by a couple planning to marry. In the 1970s, it was a bicycle, watch and sewing machine. A decade later, "sandajian" evolved to be a refrigerator, color television and washing machine, while in the early 1990s it represented a cellphone, air conditioner and computer. At present, the scope of "sandajian" has remarkably extended. The ongoing first China International Consumer Expo has attracted more than 1,500 companies from about 70 countries and regions, displaying and trading high-end consumer products. It is a boutique trading platform gathering quality products around the world, a feast for the eyes of Chinese consumers. Here are a group of combo photos showing the tremendous change in Chinese consumption behavior over the past decades. (Xinhua)
