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BEIJING: Young and eager new graduates trying to make a living in the suburbs of Beijing, have recently been described by a Chinese sociologist as "yi zhu" or ant tribes.
Academic Lian Si, who has spent two years interviewing 600 young graduates, found them to be hardworking and intelligent, but vulnerable and living in groups.
Young office workers begin their long journey from the outskirts of Beijing at around six in the morning. Every day, they spend three to four hours commuting to the city, and struggle to make ends meet.
Their choices of accomodation are tiny apartments located in the suburbs, where rental is significantly lower. In a neighbourhood in Tangjialing, a small room goes for about 400 to 500 yuan, or about US$100 a month.
23-year-old Lu Zhongming from Inner Mongolia, rents a five-square-meter apartment. He is now working in an HR firm, after completing his tertiary education in Beijing.
He said: "I earn 1,800 to about 2,000 yuan per month. Keeping myself afloat can be quite stressful, especially since I hope to buy a house and a car in future, plus take care of my parents."
There are many young graduates from poor rural families, who are only able to get temporary or low-paying jobs, mainly in sales, insurance and technical support. And it is estimated that about one million of them eke out a living in this way.
In Beijing alone, there are 100,000 new graduates facing this situation. Many graduated from lesser-known Chinese colleges and have to compete in an uncertain job market, which has seen an influx of college graduates in recent years.
Even though conditions are fairly bleak and spartan, and this clearly isn't the new life that many young graduates had in mind, many are willing to put up with the hardships and deprivations for the sake of a better future, and a brighter life.
He Xiaodong, a young graduate, said: "We are young and we should try out new things that will help toughen us. Beijing is the capital so it is natural for us to want to stay on as the opportunities here are better."
He said he stays in Beijing because conditions are better than his rural hometown. But some are here to prove they can make it on their own.
Liang Hao, a young graduate, said: "My parents are fairly well-off and we live in the city center. It is at least a proper apartment unlike the poor conditions that I live in now, where there is garbage and illegal hawkers on the streets.
"But I hope to fulfill my dreams. When I was in college, my dream was to come to Beijing to see the Olympics. Now that the dream has come true, I want to have a good career and a good home."
It is this optimism that is the main motivation for their diligence and hard work. Indeed, many of them claim that "We are not losers; it is just that we haven't succeeded."
Analysts said this generation of young Chinese grew up believing education would lead to a better life. But if they find the good life to be beyond their reach, then this young, educated segment of the population could end up disillusioned and restless.
- CNA/sc
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