The Chinese youth movement ditching big cities for the coast

A couple of years ago, Jialin Yan was riding her motorbike down a highway with some friends in Wanning, China, when suddenly, it came to a spluttering halt. Set on Hainan Island off the country’s south coast, Wanning is best known for its sandy beaches, subtropical scenery and vibrant surfing community, but that day Yan’s group of friends had decided to take an excursion out to explore the nearby mountains.

It left them stranded, a long way from their homes. “I was quite anxious – it was in the middle of nowhere and everyone was there waiting for me,” she recalls. “Back in my previous life pattern, I was so afraid of people waiting for me because it meant that there was a problem, so I felt really guilty.”

But as the group waited for someone to turn up who could assist with the bike, her friends pulled out a Bluetooth speaker and a few beers, sitting by the highway and cracking jokes without coming close to uttering a complaint. Having quit her job in Shanghai working for a tech firm earlier that year, Yan had been so used to the stresses of big city life and corporate relationships, and seeing those around her react in such a relaxed manner was an eye-opening, refreshing moment of clarity.

“They were really chill, just doing their stuff – I was really shocked and I’m still grateful for that,” Yan continues. “Then later on, the store owner drove a mini truck over, put the motorbike on it and drove me back. I could see full views of tropical plants and mountains, with the humid wind through my face and body, and I felt like I could finally cool down from my anxious life.”

Leave a Comment