Abstract

One of the most important changes in China's social structure, brought about by reform and the opening-up of the economy, is the formation and development of the middle class. In recent times, within the context of the implementation of the housing reform and an increase in housing prices, housing has become an important indicator of the Chinese middle class. Accordingly, based on an analysis of the Chinese General Social Survey 2015 data, with semi-structured interviews and participant observation of the Chinese middle class, this study examined how the middle class constructs its identity based on housing consumption. Through the analysis, this study revealed that there are certain similarities among the Chinese middle class in their value standards and pursuits of housing consumption. For example, they have the same requirements for elegant living environments, perfect living facilities, and homogeneous neighbors. They commonly pursue amenities such as comfort, beauty, personal interests, and safety. They all refer to various media resources and expect their housing and community to be constructed as territories that express their social class identity. Their choices of residential area, community environment, interior decoration of their house, and furniture layout express the structure and boundary of their social class. They have a common understanding of other social classes, like the nouveau riche, migrant workers, etc. The findings of this study can supplement the research on housing and the middle class; moreover, it can have great practical significance for deepening the understanding of housing consumption and the psychology of middle-class consumers in China.