Are You a Typical Beijinger Reader? Find Out in Our Survey Results
A heartfelt thank you to all our Beijinger readers who partook in our annual reader survey earlier this month! We've analyzed the 650 responses we received to gain a deeper understanding of our audience's profile. Curious to see how you fit into the mix?
Age
Our readership skews towards a younger demographic, with a majority -- over 70 percent -- falling within the 25 to 44-year-old bracket. It's noteworthy to mention that a mere 2 percent of our readers are 65 years or older.
Do you read our English or Chinese edition?
Given that our survey was conducted through the English edition of the Beijinger, it's not surprising that a significant majority of our audience (76 percent) read only the English edition. However, it's worth noting that nearly one-fourth of our readership, precisely 24 percent, are bilingual readers who enjoy both our English and Chinese editions.
Gender
The Beijinger hosts a marginally dominant male readership: approximately 53.2 percent of our devoted readers are men, whereas around 45.4 percent are women. That being said, nearly 1.4 percent of our readers self-identify as non-binary.
Income
44.6 percent of our readers garner a monthly income within the bracket of RMB 20,000 to RMB 40,000. The median monthly income among our reader base stands at RMB 28,600.
Occupation
A considerable proportion of our readership (33.3 percent) is comprised of teachers. In contrast, a larger segment, 47.3 percent, belongs to diverse professions outside teaching. What catches the eye, however, is the notable 6.1 percent of our readers who are students -- a demographic that certainly adds to the eclectic mix of our reader base.
Where are you from?
53.5 percent of our readers hail from the continents of North America and Europe. China, as the next major contributor, accounts for 25.9 percent of our total readers.
Visa Status
57.6 percent of readers are in China on work visas, while a surprising 7.3 percent are permanent residents.
Native Tongue
The readership of the Beijinger is notably eclectic in terms of mother tongue, albeit a majority stated English as their native language.
Where do you live?
Unsurprisingly, a majority of our survey respondents (49.2 percent) live in Chaoyang district, while Haidian (10.8 percent) comes in second and Dongcheng (9.8 percent) and Shunyi (9.8 percent) are joint third as the most popular residential areas.
Years in Beijing
One interesting tidbit: our readers have been in Beijing for an average of 10.5 years! This statistic is largely influenced by the fact that 32.5 percent of them have been here for over a decade. In contrast, 4.9 percent arrived less than a year ago, and 16.1 percent have been here for one to three years. This means that about 21 percent arrived in Beijing during the pandemic.
English Skills
A majority of our readers (53.8 percent) have native language proficiency, while 14.4 percent have near-native language skills.
Chinese Skills
Nearly half (48.2 percent) rate their Chinese as “just enough to get by” or worse, while 24.3 percent of our readers are native Chinese speakers.
Social Media Usage
It comes as no surprise that WeChat takes the lead in our readers' social media preference, with WeChat Groups at the forefront, engaging 85 percent of respondents on a regular basis. A significant 74 percent of our readers are loyal followers of WeChat Subscription Accounts, while 35 percent consistently view content on WeChat Channels. Among the platforms outside of WeChat, YouTube reigns supreme, with a considerable 60 percent of our readership accessing it frequently. Instagram, although ranking third, still captures a large user base, with 37 percent using it regularly.
Reader interests
Finally, the Beijinger readers have spoken, and their top three areas of interest are International Food, New Restaurants, and Travel.
So, do you fit the profile of our typical Beijing reader?
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Images: The Beijingers, Joey Guo
