“ It is a bit like a cultural nostalgia ”: Gen Z conducted “grannycore” activities, including mahjong, cooking and fault
When Ryan Lee played Mahjong for the first time two years ago, he hung on. He dug decorations for the classic Chinese tile game from his parents’ house and brought them to San Francisco, where he started organizing Mahjong nights in his apartment.
The rallies have become so popular that the 25-year-old Chinese Americans began to organize Mahjong pop-up holidays in restaurants, bars and nightclubs around San Francisco.
Mahjong, invented in 19th century China, is gaining popularity with a new generation of players who seek to get off their phone and socialize in the real world.
Luck Luck Lee’s Mahjong Club of Lee now houses bimensual festivals with up to 30 tables and 200 guests. They attract a diversified young crowd attracted by the festive atmosphere, live DJs, personalized cocktails and chances of meeting new friends. Instructors are on site to teach novices.
“Many people are really intrigued even if they don’t really know how to play,” said Lee. “There is a cultural component with which they try to connect. It’s a bit like cultural nostalgia.”
According to Eventbrite, a popular ticketing application. The event platform indicates that Gen Z also shows an increasing interest in other “grannyccore” activities such as cooking workshops and needle circles that occur offline.
In Mahjong, four players draw and throw tiles with different costumes, figures and Chinese characters. The object is to build a winning hand of four sets of three and a pair.
“It’s a really tactile game, and it’s really a social game. He very easily built the community among people, “said Nicole Wong, writer and audio producer in Oakland. “It’s a good way to unplug and not just to be on your phone.”
Wong learned to play when she visited her Chinese grandparents in New Zealand in 2009. Several years ago, she found her parents’ table sets and games of her parents and started organizing Mahjong evenings with her friends.
In 2019, she launched the Mahjong project, an educational guide and an oral history project inspired by her family’s love for the game. This led her to publish “Mahjong: House rules of all the Asian diaspora”, an illustrated book that explores history, strategies, traditions and game styles of the game.
“For the Asian American community, I think there is an interest in connecting to your inheritance and your culture in a way that was not the case when I grew up,” Wong said.
Yll Mahjong Club has organized nearly 20 events in San Francisco since its start last year. Lee said it was an opportunity to present people with the game and do business to local restaurants, bars and sellers. Lee’s sister began to organize similar events in Los Angeles. It is planned to extend to other American cities.
“The request increases,” said Lee, management consultant at the business school. “It is not only an interest in learning to play Mahjong, but in finding a third space or another community with whom to do things.”
Joyce Yam, the director of sponsorship of the YLL Mahjong Club, helps to manage the events of San Francisco, which are selling quickly and have long waiting lists.
“We welcome people who have no experience in Mahjong, and we have TOs who teach people how to play the game. And they love it so much that they come back,” said Yam.
Ethan Vuong, from Florida who lives in San Francisco, started playing with friends a few years ago. He saw it as a way to connect with his Chinese heritage and make new friends. He is a regular on the Baba House and Yll Mahjong Club of Oakland events, where he volunteers to teach new arrivals.
“It’s not just a game of skills or mechanics, it’s an expression of your personality,” said Vuong. “I continue to play because I have this goal that I will beat my grandmother one day.”
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