Podcasters Xie Ruohan (left) and Meng Chang record an episode of their show The Weirdo in Beijing in May. (JADE GAO / AFP)
HANGZHOU－Wearing a backpack and earphones, Zhang Zhaoyu set off from his office during rush hour, accompanied by his favorite podcast.
Podcasts have become a life companion for the 27-year-old white-collar worker in Beijing. "When I'm commuting or waiting, podcasts fill the boring blanks," he said.
According to a report by market research company eMarketer, there were 86 million podcast listeners in China last year, second only to the United States.
In eastern China's Zhejiang province, Zhao Fanyu prepared dinner for herself while listening to a podcast.
"Listening to podcasts gives me some companionship when I'm doing chores or cooking," she said.
After getting her master's degree, Zhao found a job in Jiaxing as a grassroots civil servant. She listens to podcasts for more than an hour a day and usually listens to discussions about current events and hot topics. She says podcasts are becoming a spiritual home for young people living alone in big cities.
Young urbanites like Zhao living in China's first- and second-tier cities are the main audience for podcasts. They care about current affairs and personal feelings, and they listen to serious discussions as well as those about games and entertainment.
According to statistics from podcast search engine Listen-Notes, there were more than 40,000 Chinese podcasts at the end of last year, up from more than 10,000 in April 2020.
Dong Chenyu, a lecturer at Renmin University of China's School of Journalism and Communication, said sound sometimes has advantages over video. He said the COVID-19 pandemic has made people spend more time at home, but prolonged screen time has affected their eyes, making podcasts a welcome relief.
Podcasts are also gradually becoming more valuable commercially. Shu Yulong, CEO of podcast app Xiaoyuzhoufm, said podcasts are now gradually being taken seriously by players in the media market.
"In 2021, traditional paper media started to enter the podcast market, opening podcast accounts on Xiaoyuzhoufm, and recording audio content for podcast platform distribution," Shu said.
Market researcher eMarketer predicts the number of podcast listeners in China will reach 102 million this year, and that more than 10 percent of the Chinese population will be podcast listeners by 2024.