Universal chargers, Fuwa, camera films and other merchandises were displayed in the May 10-15 See China in a Shopping Cart exhibition at Beijing's UCCA on 798 art district.
It was 18 years ago that the first merchandise was added to the Taobao shopping cart and China entered the era of e-commerce. Since that online niche start, online shopping has exploded to become a mainstream activity across the country.
The exhibition showcased 18 products of their times and the top 50 "explosive products" that Taobao sold from 2003 to 2020. Many products represent the shared memory of a generation.
Dutch photographer Ruben Lundgren and Slovenian photographer Matjaz Tancic took influential pictures of such Taobao products and compiled them into an album that has exhibited overseas and on the Chinese mainland.
