Shanghai luxury hotel trend sees users paying for social media imagery

A growing trend in China involves individuals paying for short-term access to luxury settings to curate a high-status social media image. In Shanghai, a group of 15 women reportedly pooled funds to rent a river-view room at the Ritz-Carlton for approximately 3,000 yuan per night. Each participant paid roughly 200 yuan to take turns using the room for photography, utilizing luxury props such as designer bags, fresh flowers, and hotel bathrobes to pose against the Lujiazui skyline.

What began as spontaneous gatherings organized via WeChat has evolved into a commercialized service. On platforms like Xiaohongshu, users can now purchase standardized “rich girl experience” packages, with some services priced around 799 yuan per hour. The phenomenon has sparked public debate regarding the vanity of manufacturing a lifestyle that does not belong to the participants versus the individual right to spend personal funds as they choose.