For Shirley Yao, who works for a financial company in Shanghai, consumption is a major source of happiness.
Yao, in her 20s, earns 15,000 yuan ($2,286) per month. She splurges around 30,000 yuan ($4,569) annually on cosmetics and clothes. She also spends money on ball-jointed dolls, which look lifelike and have flexible limbs, and on idol worship, avidly supporting popular idols, like pop singers, film stars or players, by buying concert or match tickets and the products they endorse, no matter how expensive.