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Discussion keeps the world turning. This is Roundtable. You're listening to Roundtable with myself, Hiyang. I'm joined by Yuxian and Jason Smith in the studio. Coming up. Hey, lovebirds and romantics. It's May 20th. China's sweetest unofficial Valentine's Day. Where the numbers literally say, I love you in Chinese. Whether you're coupled up or flying solo, today we're diving into all things love. From heartfelt romance to playful role-play adventures based on intriguing love-themed scripts. And these things are called LARP. Ready to feel the love and let's get started. And why is Peel Apart Film or Slapien that old-school instant photo you have to peel from the camera suddenly the hottest retro trend? Is it nostalgia, the imperfect look, or just a cool way to stand out from digital pics? Our podcast listeners can find us at Roundtable China on Apple Podcast. And from the world of entertainment to what fuels your passion, our Heart to Heart segment is all about you. Share your thoughts with us at Roundtable Podcast at QQ.com or better yet record a voice memo. We'd love to hear your voice and feature it in our special Heart to Heart segment. Now let's move on to the topic discussion of this one. On May the 20th or Wu Arling, a sweet number sequence that whispers I love you in Chinese has become alongside Valentine's Day another special occasion for lovebirds and romantics across China. Zhu Ben Xia or LARP, the shorthand for live-action roleplay is thriving with romantic scripts and immersive stories that let people step into their own love tales. Yet as shopping deals flood the scene, we're left wondering is Wu Arling about genuine feelings or just another shopping festival? What exactly is LARP and how did it evolve beyond the original form of murder mystery? And yeah, let's explain for Jason because his big eyes seem to insinuate that what the hell are you talking about? Well, for LARP, gosh, I love that pronunciation of the combination, but Zhu Ben Xia literally translated as scripted murders, murder solving cases, which is a Chinese live-action role-playing murder mystery game in which participants assume pre-written characters and follow a narrative script and collaboratively solve a fictional crime. So for our, say, Western listeners who's not familiar with this, this is basically a board game but equipped with scripts. So imagine your Dungeons & Dragons table all set up with scripts and what your role is scripted to say or play in a certain narrative, in a certain story. That's just simplified without all the diocese throwing and, you know, little figures moving on the map, but this is a simplified script following game. So I think this topic first came to Roundtable around 2021, right? I remember I wrote that research paper about, like, how live-action role-playing was so popular back then. So following that live, say, the live-action fantasy or trend in the game, in recent years there's been series of measures that's taken to kind of improve the market and also improve their service quality as well. So in 2022, there's been a regulatory overhaul that's requiring all venues for Jube and Sha to upgrade fire safety, revise their business license to include script entertainment and purge unsafe scripts. And also that's an aim to protect the physical and mental health of young players as well. So it's basically enhancing the overall quality of the Jube and Sha, say, products. And in recent years, however, there's been a new trend because previously Jube and Sha is more like equally open to each and every player on the table. So each and every one will play a role and they have certain, say, responsibilities where there are certain lines that need to say to tell the other players in order for the game to carry on. But here's the new trend in recent years that is the core. Yeah, that's wonderful explanation. But let's also just add a couple of footnotes. And before we get into the love theme, which is something I'm most excited about. So, Jason, you know, with this game, originally it was a board game, but then it got elevated to you can actually act out like an actor. And then you can go to these elaborate scenes and pretty much be an actor following a script and playing this game with other people. And correct me if I'm wrong, you Shan, everybody's got a script and you share this big storyline, but you only see your own storyline in this whole thing. So there's the sense of mystery because you don't know what exactly you don't know what exactly other people's storylines are going to progress. And that's how you act together. And it can be for friends or for complete strangers as well. And guess what, Jason, this becomes a wonderful way to meet new people and maybe even start a romance. OK, he's not convinced. I see the rising eyebrows. Why not? Well, I mean, actually, I'm thinking this is a great way to make money. I hope that an American living in the United States hears this idea because if you could set up a warehouse and build some elaborate scenes and get some costumes, you know, acting and community theater is also already very popular in the United States. But they're preparing a play for a few weeks or months to present to an audience. But this you could just go in and experience. But when the consumer who pays to participate in this larp leaves, they don't take anything with them except their memory. So the business owner gets all of that money. So whatever you're charging, you get to keep. And there are so many real estate places that need consumers in the United States, just empty businesses everywhere and downtowns. This is a fantastic. I'm just thinking we should steal this idea from China and do this in the United States. And there is a lot of money to be made. Yeah. Well, do you think Americans usually here in China, it's young people who are interested in this? But I don't want to discriminate ageism. Do you think people would be into this? Because in China, I think now it's been seen as, oh, this is something that me and my friends can do over the weekend. This is a fun activity, a leisure activity. And also a great way to meet your future love interests. Maybe that's going a little bit too far, but it's a great way to meet people as well. And I wonder if in America they can sow the seed of commerce and imagination. You know, in China, that is already this is a mature market now. Yes, I think this is whatever is popular in one place can probably become popular in another place. And I think this is actually a really amazing idea. I'd be surprised if there weren't already U.S. businesses doing this. If I had the seed money and I was in the United States, I would want to do this. Right. So now how is this amalgamated with the love theme and could it be a little dangerous? Please explain. Well, I'm not so sure about the dangerous part. We are indeed trying to enhance the safety measures of the venues that hosted these games. But the thing is, within recent years, with the development of the popularity of the game, there are, say, game operators or venue operators coming up with this brilliant idea of just incorporating more, say, engagement of NPCs with a core player instead of focusing equally on each and every role on the table. So one of which falls into our theme today of the romantic theme, that's the love companion, which is a premium feature in China's driven shot game nowadays. So that refers to, say, hiring an NPC, if not several NPC roles, to play with you and the other players. But the NPCs are paid to just mainly interact with the core player who paid the most. Yeah, paid the most and enjoy the most of, say, the quote unquote intimacy interactions, including holding hands and hugging. But the good side, I know it sounds a bit awkward, but the good side is that it's a very rich gesture in providing emotional compensation. So unlike traditional dating or just mystery solving jubin sha, this romance scripts offer a safe distance so that the players can enjoy, quote unquote, intimate interactions, including hand holding, hugging, just like normal interactions without the real life risks of actually falling in love. So that's the service kind of like a gathering center of the jubin sha circle and the emotional compensation circle. So that's where these two groups kind of floss together and create this new, say, service line of using jubin sha to feel like I'm in love. Do you think this is sound going into an unexpected direction? I like the idea of meeting people, but I think in my country's context, especially where I'm from California, which is like the state of lawsuits, you cannot have parts of it where strangers are going to end up holding each other or holding hands. So those parts of the scripts are going to have to be removed. You're absolutely right. There are reports going on over Zella's physical contact as well. Like sometimes the NPCs, they can go a bit over the, say, the deadline, like over the line a little bit, cross that line a little bit, and leading some DMs to draw stricter lines to or just simply switch to same gender companions for safety reasons. And the DM is kind of like the host. Right. The host. The operator. You should do this and that. Right. I kind of like that role. Okay, guys. It's our link, May 20th. And in Chinese, we don't usually say those three little words in Chinese characters out loud. See, I'm already like blushing a little bit, but I feel perfectly okay saying it in English. In my second language. So some people would associate professing your love on this day, shouting it out, but not actually do that. Many people do it here in China. But let's talk about expressing your love. And we've got, you know, a wonderful Chinese panelists and an American panelist here. Share your thoughts about this. Are there some similarities and possibly differences when it comes to professing your love? I'm going to start with a little bit of difference. In fact, I was just chatting with our colleagues yesterday in preparation for the Wu Arling day, because the fact that Wu Arling is now an unofficial Valentine's Day among the Chinese youth, especially young people in Gen Z, kind of reminds us how young people in China nowadays are sort of encouraged to express love between whether it's an romantic partner or just between, say, friends or family. It's now like we are just saying it out loud, making a day to celebrate love. And that's something really nice about Wu Arling, the day being set as a time to enjoy and be in companion with your loved ones. So, yeah, that's something I noticed in recent years as well, because growing up, we don't really do special things on May the 20th every year. It's just starting from recent years, it's becoming a thing. So I don't know how you feel about that, Jason, or maybe the Western young lovers, they're just more opened up. Well, I mean, from a very young age, we are all told by our parents all the time, I love you and we're encouraged to say it back. So it is a huge part of my culture and I think of the English language in general. And I have only learned over the last decade or so that it is not as popular here. But what I've been told, especially by comedians, actually, is that Chinese people like to express their love through actions. So they give, oh, are you warm enough? They give you a jacket or, you know, maybe flowers or actions that show love, that demonstrate love between family members. But I'm sorry, I have married a young Chinese lady and I'm going to keep saying it as often as it makes me feel comfortable personally. Wonderful. Yeah, that's nice. And I think it's important to find your love language and find your significant other's love language. And apparently there are five. This is according to some American author. Well, the language, words of affection and there's, you know, the action speaks louder than words for some people. And there's like physical contact and a few other and a couple of others, which I can't really remember now. But I think, you know, finding that love language and expressing it adequately to that special someone is always a wonderful thing. And if you do it right, if you have that special someone in your heart, then, okay, I'm going to go really cheesy here. Every day could be. I love that. I love that idea. Can I just add one more thing? I find it really fascinating. My wife also tells me, don't waste your money on flowers. But if I buy her flowers, she's so happy anyway. That's a good one. Yeah. And I read on social media, apparently, ladies, well, some ladies agreed that if you get flowers, then it has to be sent straight to the office or somewhere that other people can see. But if you don't, that's perfectly fine as well, because most possibly she's going to share it on her social media anyway. Yeah, I was so innocent. I just didn't think about that. You know, the thing about flowers, well, an extra layer of the meaning or the function of it is for the world to see. And if you don't share it on social media, well, I never existed, right? Coming up on the next part of the show, Peel Apart Instant Film is making a wild comeback and people are paying over 300 yuan per shot. What's behind this sudden love for a vintage photo style? Stick around, everybody. We'll be back after this break. Looking for passion? How about fiery debate? Want to hear about current events in China from different perspectives? Then tune in to Roundtable, where East meets West and understanding is the goal. You're listening to Roundtable with Myself He Young. I'm joined by Yu Shan and Jason Smith on the show. Recently, Peel Apart Film, that's Slapien, a type of instant film that develops as you pull it out of the camera, has made a surprise comeback. Each shot can now cost over 300 yuan or 42 US dollars, far more than regular instant photos. The trend took off after celebrities posted retro style film photos on social media in China setting off the trend. So how did Peel Apart Film go from obsolete to viral? Well, this is actually the first time I ever heard about Peel Apart Films. Apparently, this is an instant photo without needing a darkroom. And that means after you press the shutter, then the photo just pops out. You have to manually peel one side of the film by your hand and then get the image. That's why it's called the Peel Apart Film. So this is first invented by American scientist Edwin Land in the 1940s, and the format reached its peak in the 60s and 70s thanks to Polaroid's automatic instant cameras. But Polaroid filed for bankruptcy in 2001 and stopped producing Peel Apart Film in 2008, which means that it's kind of a limited edition nowadays because all the stock of such film ended in 2008. That also explains why there's been a boom of people trying to get more of such film. Because, yeah, before this whole thing become trendy, the Peel Apart Film only cost about 71 yuan or less than 10 dollars per box for 10 sheets. But since production ended years ago, all current stock is old inventory and, well, each photo taken is one less remaining. So thanks to all the social media hype, prices have soared, well, rather skyrocketed in recent times. So a box of 10 can now go for over 1,000 yuan, which means that a single shot in Shanghai or Beijing Street scene could cost 400 to 500 yuan. That's incredible. I've never seen photos taken that expensive. Yeah. Jason, do you understand this resurgence? I mean, absolutely. I think it's not just about the visual appeal. I think it's also about the instantaneousness of it because I don't have this technology. I've never used it personally, but I do have Polaroid-like technology that I've bought from a major company. And I brought it to a party where we passed the camera around and took pictures of one another. And it was a wonderful experience having that picture come out of the machine and then develop by itself within the next 10 or 20 seconds. People were able to take these souvenirs home. While this looks really expensive, I expect some company to replicate this technology because when you see something selling for such value, some engineer somewhere is going to figure out how to do it again. Yeah, the fragility and unpredictability of this type of film has something to do about its popularity because when you're pulling it out of the camera, you could mess it up. And then that's 300 yuan down the drain. Or it's a sweet surprise as some young people are chasing after that nowadays because a lot of the times the filters, all the software, the apps on your phone, they can create perfect digitally filtered pictures that follow the same kind of pattern, the old school nostalgic pattern. But that moment when you press shutter and you have to manually create that whole image on a small piece of card, that's kind of very much worth collecting as well. So young people are, of course, floating around trying to get one box for a thousand yuan. Yeah, well, that's going to price a lot of people out, I think, with a sensible mind. Okay, I'll take that back if I can. And the warm tones, the slight yellow highlights, soft grain, and even imperfections like the chemical smudges or light leaks create this unrepeatable charm. And that is something that I can also use filters to replicate on my smartphone, right? And it's done a lot, but still nowadays, young people, they don't look for perfection in photography anymore. They look for that nostalgic feeling, just like how people fall for vinyl discs, you know, like that little noise behind the music playing, that's nostalgic and that's of a certain aesthetic taste, right? I mean, even with the other technology, the Polaroid technology, which you can still buy versions of, people love it. And it's not just all, it's also not just because it's instantaneous, but because of its imperfections. Yes, definitely. And that brings us to the end of today's show. Thank you so much, Jason and Yuxian, for joining the discussion. I'm He Young. You can find us on Apple Podcast at Roundtable China. We will see you next time.