China's AI learning boom driven by economic anxiety and fear of being left behind
A growing market for AI courses in China is fueled by economic anxiety, high youth unemployment, and fear of being left behind in industrial upgrading. Young people in cities like Hangzhou are self-organizing classes to learn AI tools such as Codex and Figma, often using VPNs to bypass geo-blocks on services like OpenAI. The paid knowledge industry, exemplified by companies like Shengcai Youshu…
Key points
- Over 80,000 people have paid for membership in Shengcai Youshu, a major AI learning community in China
- Membership costs ¥3,365, roughly half the average monthly private-sector salary in Hangzhou (¥7,671)
- The company hosts over 2,000 offline AI training events per year across Chinese cities
A look at China's AI learning frenzy, as economic anxiety and fear of being left behind fuel a booming market for courses promising prosperity through AI
nymag.com · 16 October 2026
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