WHY ARE YOUNG CHINESE ESCAPING TO THE COUNTRYSIDE?
Experts say "BAILAN" Giving up on life mentality similar to the United States opioid related Deaths of Despair mentality is widespread enough to alarm the government as a real sense of pessimism and disillusionment continues to grow among China’s younger generation who feel trapped and ignored by the system and so are turning their backs on everything.
In February of 2024 The Atlantic Conference reported that "The general economic downturn and collapse of the property and housing market in particular has led to a hiring slowdown, with jobs that might be most suitable to new labor market entrants continuing to be among the hardest hit." Chinese youth are expected to work 10 to 12 grueling hours a day, six days a week for low pay, young people in China are instead opting out, choosing instead to “lie flat”—remain idle and not work or engage in any economic activities—or become “professional children,” paid by their parents or grandparents to live with and care of them.
Now that there are twice as many elderly than children in China it makes sense that instead of working just to pay for elder care many youth will take over the position of caregivers for their own family members rather than risk burning out. Chinese youth are especially disturbed when they see their nations funding places in Africa and supporting governments that offer their own citizens a better life than can be had in China! The top five African destinations for Chinese investment in 2022 were South Africa, Niger, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, and Cote d'Ivoire. All with the exception of the DRC have a higher standard of living than the average rural Chinese family. Since 2012, less than half of China's population is living in rural areas. In 2022, the share of rural population decreased due to a fast declining elderly population to 34.78 percent of the entire population.
In 2024 As Chinese society becomes more “involuted”, stress brought about by both unemployment and work is prompting more Chinese youths to move from cities to the countryside in pursuit of a stress-free, Bailan (躺平, "lying flat") lifestyle. Slowing economic growth, high youth unemployment, and a job market that is losing its vitality have prompted the Chinese government to discourage young people from going to the countryside and stick out the economic downturns. In June, the unemployment rate for Chinese between the ages of 16 and 24 soared to a historical high of 21.3%. The youth of China many of whom have advanced degrees and skills see the countryside as an escape.
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