Trends come and go. The hippies came and went and whatever is left of them is a mutated form far from the original. Out of the ashes of the hippie, we see the rise of the hipster, a new global phenomenon.

Whether your view of the hipster phenomenon is a healthy appraisal of youth culture finding meaning in a rapidly changing world, or a condemnation of a ’counterculture [that has] mutated into a self-obsessed aesthetic vacuum,’ the hipster is here to stay. Just like hip-hop, rock and roll, and McDonalds crash landed in China in the 80s and 90s, hipster culture (or lack thereof) has done the same in the 2000s.

And here is my proof:

1) Rapid growth of hipster establishments.

Nanluoguxiang and the hutongs around it are the heart and arteries that pump life into the hipster culture. 炒豆合作社, or the Hot Bean Cooperative, a restaurant with hand-written menus, magic-marker writings all over the walls, and extremely simplistic and mediocre food, is the ‘Heart-Chakra’ of Chinese hipsterdom.

2) Grand opening of American Apparel store in Sanlitun.

The granddaddy of hipster apparel, American Apparel (or simply AA) has opened several shops in Shanghai and Beijing over the past months. Whether the average Chinese hipster will be able to afford the Made-in-USA accessories is another matter entirely.

3) A growing, albeit minimal, fixed gear scene

Fixed gear bicycles are a fixture (no pun intended) in the growing hipster scene. Beijing has its very own fixed gear club. So keep your eyes out for more of these DIY, brakeless bicycles hitting the street.