Don't Feel Like You Really Belong in Beijing? You're Not Alone

Do you sometimes feel like you don't belong in Beijing? Well, you're apparently not alone, as a survey completed by the China Youth Daily discovered that of 2,000 young Chinese people living and working in Chinese first tier cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen) approximately 85.5 percent don't feel a sense of belonging.

Reasons for this lack of attachment are mostly attributed to paperwork: 44.1 percent of people stated that it was the lack of hukou, the all-important Chinese household registration that legally registers you as a resident of a city, that made them feel unstuck.

Zhang Han, one of those to be surveyed, told ECNS that "It is difficult for me to get a Beijing hukou, or to buy an apartment in Beijing in the near future." Han also stated that he does not like his life in Beijing, regardless of having a relatively high paying job here in the IT industry. Despite his dissatisfaction, he said he would be unlikely to move any time soon, citing improved career opportunities as his main reason.

New ideas and emerging industries within big cities have also played a big role in cultivating this dissonance with some 49 percent of respondents stating that they felt developments in these areas were reason enough to stick it out in first tier cities. Forty-six percent hung around for more liberal and tolerant values as well as the bustling commercial and entertainment life (33.8 percent).

READ: Cost of Marrying One of China's Outnumbered Women Continues to Skyrocket

While career opportunities and the excitement of living in a big city (and we sure can agree with that in Beijing's case) are one thing keeping young people in the city, property prices and extortionate living costs are the biggest reasons people don't feel like they belong. In fact, the survey found that given the ability to purchase their own apartment, 67 percent of those surveyed believed they would find a sense of belonging in their city.

To see the original and full survey results (in Chinese), click here.

More stories by this author here.

Email: margauxschreurs@truerun.com
Instagram: s.xuagram

Photo: China Youth Daily, The Daily Mail