US$70 a photo, no problem: Vintage vibes of peel-apart film charm Chinese youths

CNA

15 hours ago

BEIJING: It's a delicate and manual process, with no second take. No guarantees on quality as well - in fact, unpredictability is a signature trait.
Also, it costs a pretty penny - upwards of several hundred yuan per shot.
A long-discontinued type of instant film currently seen as the preserve of photography enthusiasts, peel-apart film has been staging a modern comeback in China, driven by celebrity recommendations alongside a broader youthful embrace of nostalgia.
Photo businesses have also sought to cash in on the youth-centred hype, marketing the scarcity of peel-apart film and offering their services for a premium. Some are also offering bells and whistles, such as hair styling and make-up, to sweeten the deal.
The hefty prices didn't put off Hu Wengji, 20, a Chinese second-year university student in Shenzhen. She got her peel-apart photos snapped in January, joining a crowd of young Chinese embracing the retro photo format.
'I took three photos - one for myself, one for my friend, and one including both of us. Three photos cost me more than 900 yuan (US$125),' she told CNA.
PEELING BACK THE POPULARITY
A form of instant photography, peel-apart film was introduced in 1947 by Polaroid founder Edwin Land. As the name suggests, it is developed by manually peeling apart the positive and negative prints after a photo is taken.
Also known as packfilm, its popularity waned as more convenient instant photography formats like integral film emerged. The rise of digital photography left it further in the dust.
But the vintage photography format has been enjoying a renaissance in China in recent months.
The term 'si la pian', meaning 'peel-apart film' in Chinese, has been trending on Chinese social media platforms like Xiaohongshu and Weibo, racking up millions of views.
A search by CNA on these platforms found numerous posts of users showcasing their peel-apart film portraits.
According to local news reports, people have been taken by its analogue charm and visual unpredictability.
The film must be pulled out of the camera by hand before being peeled apart to reveal the photo. Mess this up, and the shot risks being irreversibly ruined.
The development process also yields a distinct, vintage aesthetic - worlds apart from the polished, clean-edged images emblematic of digital photography.
The trend has garnered extensive coverage from local news outlets. Many have highlighted how celebrities have been driving the buzz.
In late April, Chinese actress and singer Ju Jingyi posted images of her peel-apart film photo shoot on Weibo, where she has more than 31 million followers. The post received more than 1 million likes.
Fellow Chinese actress Liu Shishi and the immensely popular Taiwanese singer-actress Ouyang Nana are among the many other celebrities who have publicly embraced peel-apart film.
PAYING FOR SCARCITY
But jumping on the bandwagon isn't cheap.
Major producers Polaroid and Fujifilm discontinued their peel-apart film in 2008 and 2016 respectively.
This means all existing stock is limited and expired, and can only be found on the secondary market. And prices have gone up exponentially as the stock level goes down.
Checks by CNA on Chinese secondhand marketplace Xianyu found Fujifilm's popular FP-100c being listed at prices ranging from 1,600 yuan to 3,000 yuan for a 10-pack. The more recent the manufacturing date, the higher the price tag due to the lower risk of quality degradation.
Before it was discontinued in 2016, the film retailed for a fraction of the price, typically around US$10 to US$20 for a box of 10.
In a nod to its high cost, netizens have coined the term 'zhipian maotai', or 'paper moutai' in Chinese, to describe peel-apart film, referring to the hallmark Chinese liquor that can itself retail for more than double its average price of 1,500 yuan, taking Kweichow Moutai's flagship product Flying Fairy as an example.
Photo studios have seized on the peel-apart film trend, with marketing centred on this sense of scarcity and vintage luxury.
'Pai yi zhang, shao yi zhang' goes their refrain, loosely translated to 'take one shot, lose one shot' - referencing how every photo taken eats into a finite peel-apart film trove.
In a bid to reel in customers, photo studios in cities like Hangzhou and Chengdu offer packages that provide added services such as hair styling, make-up and framing, according to Chinese news site Shanghai Daily.
And it's clear why they're gunning for a slice of the peel-apart pie - profit.
Moyu Photo Lab, a Beijing photo studio located in the trendy neighbourhood of Sanlitun, opened in May last year and began offering peel-apart film photography four months later.
While customers seeking such services currently make up just 10 per cent of overall clients, they account for more than half of the store's revenue, its owner Xu Huan, 30, told CNA. Most of them are aged between 18 and 25.
Moyu Photo Lab offers three peel-apart film options. A monochrome shot costs 149 yuan a piece, a colour photo sets you back 459 yuan, while a colour photo taken using the Polaroid Big Shot - a popular camera model from the 1970s - costs 499 yuan.
The studio has raised prices twice over the past eight months. The rate was initially around 300 yuan for a photo taken with the Big Shot, before being hiked to just under 400 yuan in February.
'With the recent surge in demand and rising (peel-apart) film costs, we had no choice but to raise prices again to just under 500 yuan a shot,' Xu said.
The store offers test shoots where photos are taken with a digital camera for the customer to size up the shot. Before the actual shoot, customers are informed that the store is not responsible for how the photo turns out, and reshoots are not provided.
Hu, the university student, had reservations during her shoot.
'I was slightly concerned about how the photo would turn out, because the film used was out of date, and the chemicals would not be as stable. I was also worried about my gestures and facial expressions,' she said.
While she enjoyed the experience, Hu views it as a one-off event.
'I will not do it again, because I do not want to pay for the film at a premium like this. About two years ago, it only cost 150 yuan for a photo,' she said.
'When you're capturing a very meaningful moment or taking a photo with a significant other, but you're worried about the high cost or concerned too much about the image quality, it somewhat loses the meaning of commemorating and recording.'
THE BUSINESS OF NOSTALGIA
The revival of peel-apart film in China has been linked to a broader global trend embracing nostalgia experiences, permeating sectors like fashion, music and technology.
Vintage ensembles have come back into vogue, sales of cassette tapes and vinyl records have surged, and yesteryear gadgets like flip phones, iPods and Walkmans are being reintroduced.
Tamagotchi, the egg-shaped toy housing a virtual pet that was hugely popular among children and teenagers in the 1990s, has made a roaring return, albeit with modern bells and whistles.
In China, the newfound youth crush for peel-apart film comes after similar viral comebacks for other retro tech like charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras and older iPhone models.
'The unique imaging effect of peel-apart film has attracted significant attention from young people and quickly spread through social platforms, creating a retro trend phenomenon that has further stimulated market demand,' Jiang Han, a senior researcher at the Pangoal Institution think tank, told local media site China News Service.
But how long will the fad last?
Uncle Wang, the independent photographer, believes the peel-apart film trend has a limited shelf life.
'Once all the celebrities and influencers have tried it, the trend will probably fade,' he said. Still, he thinks demand for Polaroid and traditional film will remain due to a 'steady fanbase'.
Xu, the photo studio owner, shares this sentiment. He believes the retro aesthetic trend will 'continue indefinitely'.
'Polaroids, film and peel-apart film each offer unique imaging effects and the fun of analogue photography,' he said.
'As long as film supplies are available, enthusiasts will keep it alive.'