中國年輕人選擇擺脫國內的激烈競爭和壓力，追求全球游牧生活方式 (1/2)

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

Young Chinese opt out of the rat race and pressures at home to pursue global nomad lifestyle (1/2)

Fri, July 28, 2023 at 2:14 a.m. PDT

BANGKOK (AP) — Shortly after China opened its borders with the end of “zero-COVID,” Zhang Chuannan lost her job as an accountant at a cosmetic firm in Shanghai and decided to explore the world.

“The cosmetics business was bleak,” said Zhang, 34, who explained everyone wore face masks during the pandemic. After being laid off, she paid $1,400 for an online Thai course, got an education visa and moved to the scenic northern Thai city of Chiang Mai.

Zhang is among a growing number of young Chinese moving overseas not necessarily because of ideological reasons but to escape the country’s ultra-competitive work culture, family pressures and limited opportunities after living in the country under the strict pandemic policies for three years. Southeast Asia has become a popular destination given its proximity, relatively inexpensive cost of living and tropical scenery.

There is no exact data on the number of young Chinese moving overseas since the country ended pandemic restrictions and reopened its borders. But on the popular Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, hundreds of people have discussed their decisions to relocate to Thailand. Many get a visa to study Thai while figuring out their next steps.

At Payap University in Chiang Mai, around 500 Chinese began an online Thai course early this year.

Royce Heng, owner of Duke Language School, a private language institute in Bangkok, said around 180 Chinese inquire each month about visa information and courses.

The hunt for opportunities far from home is partly motivated by China's unemployment rate for people ages 16 to 24, which rose to a record high of 21.3% in June. The scarcity of good jobs increases pressure to work long hours.

Opting out is an increasingly popular way for younger workers to cope with a time of downward mobility, said Beverly Yuen Thompson, a sociology professor at Siena College in Albany, New York.

 “In their 20s and early 30s, they can go to Thailand, take selfies and work on the beach for a few years and feel like they have a great quality of life,” Thomson said. “If those nomads had the same opportunities they hoped for in their home countries, they could just travel on vacation.”

During the pandemic in China, Zhang was cooped up in her Shanghai apartment for weeks at a time. Even when lockdowns were lifted, she feared another COVID-19 outbreak would prevent her from moving around within the country.

“I now value freedom more,” Zhang said.

A generous severance package helped finance her time in Thailand and she is seeking ways to stay abroad long-term, perhaps by teaching Chinese language online.

Moving to Chiang Mai means waking up in the mornings to bird songs and a more relaxed pace of life. Unlike in China, she has time to practice yoga and meditation, shop for vintage clothes and attend dance classes.

(to be continued)

Translation

曼谷（美聯社）- 隨著 “零新冠” 結束，中國開放邊境後不久，Zhang Chuannan 失去了上海一家化妝品公司會計的工作，決定探索世界。

34 歲的Zhang說： “化妝品生意很慘淡。” 他解釋說，疫情期間每個人都戴著口罩。 離職後，她花了1,400美元參加了在線泰語課程，獲得了教育簽證，搬到了風景秀麗的泰國北部城市清邁。

Zhang是在有越來越多的中國年輕人移居海外中的其中一人，這不一定是因為意識形態原因，而是為了逃避, 在中國競爭激烈的工作文化、家庭壓力, 和嚴格的疫情政策下生活了三年後縮小了的機會。 東南亞因其地理位置優越、生活成本相對低廉和熱帶風光而成為熱門目的地。

自中國結束疫情限制並重新開放邊境以來，並沒有關於移居海外的中國年輕人數量的確切數據。 但在中國流行的社交媒體平台小紅書上，數百人討論了他們移居泰國的決定。 許多人獲得了學習泰語的簽證，同時制定了下一步計劃。

今年年初，在清邁帕亞普大學，大約 500 名中國人開始了在線泰語課程。

曼谷私立語言學院杜克語言學校的老闆 Royce Heng 表示，每月約有 180 名中國人詢問簽證信息和課程。

遠離家鄉尋找機會的部分原因是中國16至24歲人群的失業率在6月份升至歷史新高21.3%。 好工作的稀缺增加了長時間工作的壓力。

紐約奧爾巴尼錫耶納學院社會學教授 Beverly Yuen Thompson 表示，對於年輕員工來說，選擇退出是一種越來越流行的應對向下流動時期的方式。

Thomson說: “在 20 多歲和 30 歲出頭的時候，他們可以去泰國，玩自拍，在海灘上工作幾年，感覺自己的生活質量很高” 。 “如果這些游牧民族在自己的祖國有他們希望的同樣的機會，他們就可以纯去度假。”

在中國疫情期間，Zhang曾一度被困在上海的公寓里數週。 即使解除封鎖，她仍擔心再次爆發新冠肺炎 (COVID-19) 疫情會阻止她在國內四處走動。

Zhang說: “我現在更看重自由” 。

一份慷慨的遣散費在財政上幫助支撐她在泰國的日子，她正在尋找長期留在國外的方法，也許是通過在線教授中文。

搬到清邁意味著早晨在鳥鳴聲中醒來，享受更輕鬆的生活節奏。 與在中國不同，她有時間練習瑜伽和冥想、購買復古衣服並參加舞蹈課程。

（待續）