From Ambition To Anxiety: Why Young Chinese Are Leaving Beijing

For generations, Beijing has been viewed as a city where people go to pursue opportunity and build successful careers. But a slowing economy, rising living costs and tougher competition are prompting some young Chinese residents to question whether staying in the capital still offers the future they once imagined.

According to Al Jazeera, Beijing has long represented a destination for those seeking a better life, from scholars travelling to the imperial capital to sit examinations centuries ago to graduates, entrepreneurs and migrant workers who arrived during China’s years of rapid economic growth. Now, some young people are choosing to leave, saying the cost of building a life in the city has become increasingly difficult to sustain.

Beijing’s long-held promise of opportunity

Wang Lei, 29, was one of them. Born in neighbouring Hebei province, he still remembers his first visit to Beijing as a child and the impression the city left on him.

“When we arrived at Beijing Railway Station, my friend and I spotted a towering skyscraper for the first time,” Wang recalled. “I told him when I grew up, I would stand on top of it.”

He moved to the city in 2020 and found work in the real estate industry, which was then still one of China’s most lucrative sectors. Like millions before him, Wang arrived with the belief that hard work would eventually be rewarded.

Six years later, those plans have changed, and Wang believes his future may now lie beyond the city that once inspired him.

The country’s economic rise was built partly on one of the largest migrations in modern history. Hundreds of millions of people left villages and smaller cities for booming urban centres, helping drive decades of growth.

Few places represented that transformation more than Beijing. Its population has almost doubled since 1990, growing from about 11 million people to nearly 22 million. For many people from remote areas, having a Beijing address became a symbol of success and progress.

Economic slowdown weakens the Beijing dream

But in recent years, that appeal has weakened. China’s once rapid economic growth has slowed, while problems in the real estate sector and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic have affected business confidence and consumer behaviour.

Al Jazeera reported that families who invested much of their savings in property saw home prices decline and felt financially less secure. The pandemic and the restrictions that followed also changed how many people viewed saving and preparing for uncertain times.

People were spending less, and businesses became more cautious about expansion. The job market also tightened.

Wang’s plans for a long-term career in Beijing began to unravel as the property market weakened.

“The real estate market was in a very bad state,” he said. “The pressure was immense, so I decided to quit.”

Today, he works as a freelancer while co-owning a small bar with friends. The work gives him more flexibility, but he said managing expenses remains difficult.

“Many people around me – including my colleagues and friends – are under this same kind of stress,” he said. “Their salaries simply don’t match their expenses. If you add dating, rent and the occasional trip into the mix, the money just isn’t enough.”

Young Chinese rethink the cost of staying

On Chinese social media, posts under the hashtag “escaping Beijing” have gained attention, with young people sharing their decisions to leave the capital.

Many mention the same reasons: expensive housing, intense competition and uncertainty about career prospects. For Wang, the decision is increasingly practical.

“If I spent the same amount of money in another city, I might enjoy a better quality of life,” he says.

However, leaving Beijing is not an easy choice. Wang said there is still a stigma attached to moving away, with some people viewing it as a sign of failure and “loss of face”.

But he believes attitudes are changing, particularly among younger generations who are questioning a system where the cost of success has become too high.

A new definition of success

For years, China’s “996” work culture, working from 9am to 9pm, six days a week, was seen as a necessary sacrifice for those who wanted to get ahead. The concept was supported by figures including Jack Ma, the billionaire founder of Chinese technology company Alibaba, who built his company and fortune from the ground up.

Older generations in China often speak proudly of their ability to “chi ku”, or “eat bitterness”, in order to survive and succeed. But slowing growth and increasing competition have changed the way some young people view that approach.

Al Jazeera reported that this shift has contributed to the rise of “tang ping”, or “lying flat”, a term that emerged in 2021 to describe young people rejecting intense competition and choosing a simpler lifestyle rather than constantly pursuing higher salaries or traditional markers of success.

For Wang, the idea is becoming increasingly appealing. Several of his friends have already left Beijing for other cities, and he believes they have found a better balance between work and life.

“I’ve come to realise that the people who left Beijing to live in other cities are happier than I am,” he said. “They face far less pressure and anxiety. My own life is nowhere near as relaxed or free as theirs.”

He rejects the idea that leaving means abandoning ambition.

“Sure, there are young people who don’t want to work hard, but there are plenty who do. We just need to adapt to the realities of today.”

For Wang, leaving Beijing would mean accepting that his childhood dream has changed. He was raised to believe that success meant reaching the top of China’s biggest cities. Now, he says, it means finding a place where he can build a life that feels sustainable.

(With inputs from Al Jazeera)