Thick mid-April air filled the common space at Dayin International Youth Hostel in Shanghai this week. A melting pot of different languages, dialects, cultures, people, and dreams. In one corner, a young girl sat atop her navy suitcase as another traveler tugged at the zipper to force it shut. At another end of the room, two Chinese men exchanged pictures from the lush, mountainous Southern province of Yunnan over a warm Tsingtao beer. While one calls the Southern Hunan province home, the other relishes in how foreign it seemed from his hometown up in Beijing.
Suyao, 23, from the coastal province of Liaoning, described her plans after finishing up her 18-month long adventure across China. Like many other young Chinese people, Suyao had taken a post-college break for several years—her travels were fully funded by her family who she said were “apprehensive at first, but eventually came around.” For the past 18 months, she had traveled the coastline of China, staying in cheap hostels, crashing on friends’ couches, and surviving weeks on instant ramen and Family Mart pork buns. “My parents want me to find a job, but they also understand that I haven’t had rest in 22 years,” she said, referring to the demanding nature of her schooling.
This summer, Suyao will wrap up her adventure and return home to begin her career. Eventually, she hopes to become her own boss, although her goal right now is to take whatever position she can find. “The media says that this generation is lazy and that we don’t want to work,” she said. She spoke in timid English but an undertone of frustration coated her words. “The truth is I do want to work…but I also want to have some freedom.”
Her philosophy is shared by hundreds of well-educated young Chinese, so much so that the media coined the phrase “lying flat” to describe those who refuse to prioritize work above all else. “Lying flat did not become a trend because young people want to avoid being ‘“productive members of society,”’ noted a South China Morning Post article, “—but rather as a way to push back against a damaging, inescapable burnout culture, known in Chinese as nei juan, or “involution.”’
The reality for most of Gen Z was growing up in a demanding primary education system, studying all throughout high school for the gaokao (college entrance exam), and completing an undergraduate degree only to face a weak job market. Now, graduates across China are opting to take time off before entering the workforce. This trend is a sort of spinoff of what Westerners often call a “gap year,” which typically takes place in between high school and university.
An article featured on Tsinghua University’s Media page discussed why more graduates are waiting to start work. “For generation-Z graduates, diversifying their life experiences and exploring the path they choose seem to be more important,” wrote author Bi Ran.
And, more students can afford to take time before starting work. The growing unemployment rate is also a result of decreased urgency among the youth. Larry Hu, chief China economist at Macquarie Group, told the Wall Street Journal that the increase in wealthier Chinese families is leading to a more flexible time frame for their offspring.
Amir Hampel, Professor of Global China Studies at NYU Shanghai, says the historically high youth unemployment rate reflects a generation shift away from the traditional life trajectory of their parents. “A lot of young people don’t want to work just to survive,” he said. “People want a job where they can find some sort of fulfillment.” He argues that this isn’t simply an issue of laziness like the government and older generations suggest.
Dayin International Youth Hostel is a hub for young Chinese graduates that resonate with Professor Hampel’s findings. Dressed in a grey Adidas tracksuit with leather flip flops and headphones slung around his neck, Xianglong, 23, sat atop a stool in the common space playing Candy Crush on his phone. Originally from coastal Shandong province, has been living at the hostel for a few months now, and plans to stay throughout the summer. Before starting a PhD degree in environmental science at a Shanghai University, he’s using this time to “meet people, make friends, see the city, and just relax away from home,” he said. Like Suyao, Xianglong’s “gap year” is also fully funded by his parents, who trust that this break will help him reset before getting back into his studies.
Xianglong, recognizes that this may be his last opportunity to truly live his life how he wants without external financial or social constraints. While his future remains uncertain and he has reservations about finding a job after graduation, “That’s a worry for tomorrow, not today,” he said with a carefree grin.
Nora Yu (who prefers not to use her real name), works at Dayin International Youth Hostel as a receptionist. She moved to Shanghai from her hometown in Lijiang nearly two years ago in search of a more fulfilling life. “I graduated university with an education degree, and halfway through I realized it wasn’t for me,” she said. After working at a local school over the summer before her third year, Nora had a change of heart, but it was too late to change majors. Upon completing her degree, she immediately booked a train to Shanghai, found a job at the hostel through a mutual friend, and has been working there ever since. “It’s not my end goal,” she admitted, “but I’m making money, and I get to meet people just like me every day.”
Comentários