Tough Choice

　　Bei-Shang-Guang is a popular catchphrase inChina right now. A collective name for the country’sthree most developed cities of Beijing， Shanghai andGuangzhou， it is used to convey an ideal of the mostdesired lifestyle in China.

　　Bei-Shang-Guang originates from the seeminglyendless job opportunities， high salaries andbusy streets in these powerhouse cities – the placesto find fame and fortune. Even in more practicalterms， the cities have their attractions： they’re hometo one-third of China’s key universities， 14 percent offirst-rate hospitals， and the best cultural facilities inthe country.

　　For young Chinese， Bei-Shang-Guang is a Mecca.Migrants from other places all around the countryflock to the first-tier cities in the hopes of findingbetter jobs and having better lives. Alongside themigrants， each year， around half-a-million collegegraduates in the three cities join the struggle for opportunitiesin Bei-Shang-Guang. But in recent years，a new trend against this conventional “mega city”fever has emerged.

　　Reversing trend

　　Since 2009， “fleeing from Bei-Shang-Guang” hasbecome a hot button topic covered by nearly all majormedia outlets in the months following Spring Festival，a time when millions return to big cities after spendingthe holiday in their hometowns. This year， the topicagain aroused public interest with newly released statistics：61 percent of college graduates under 24 intend toavoid first-tier cities when looking for a job， comparedto 46 percent in 2011， according to China’s popular jobhuntingwebsite zhaopin.com.

　　The extremely high living cost， especiallysoaring housing prices， is considered theprimary reason for this trend reversal. Thereport from the National Bureau of Statisticsshows that up until last September， China’sresidential rent prices had been rising for 44consecutive months. In Beijing， peopleunder 34 spend an average of 1，993 yuan($324.6)， 37 percent of the average Beijingincome， on monthly rent.

　　But the financial pressure is not the onlyproblem. The hukou， a household registrationsystem， means that some favorableresources such as low rent housing areonly available to local hukou-registered residents inbig cities. To ease the pressure brought by a boomingpopulation - Beijing now has more than 20 millionpermanent residents， with an annual increaseof 600，000， the major cities have been tighteningcontrol over the household registration process andlimiting the number of new hukou permits.

　　Sense of belonging

　　For people struggling to etch out a life in the big cities，what’s often more painful than the financial pressure isthe absence of a sense of belonging. In Chinese society，owning a house is fundamental to the concept of“home” and the hukou is considered proof of identity. It’swidely held that one cannot become a real local citizenuntil they get both of them； otherwise， the insecurity willbe both physical and psychological.

　　In Beijing， people without a home or a hukou arenicknamed beipiao， which means “floating in Beijing，”without roots (home and identity). The word has beenused for decades to refer to those from other areasstriving in the capital for a better life.

　　One of the most well-known cases ofa beipiao youth is Ren Yueli， who had beenliving a double life as a waitress in the daytimeand singer at night for four years until someonetook a video of her singing and published it onthe Internet. Months later， she appeared onthe stage of the 2008 Spring Festival Gala，performing for over a billion TV viewers. Asfamous as she is， she still considers herselfa beipiao， as she does not have a Beijinghukou.

　　Every mega city shares a similar ethos：dream. In the 1970s hit song New York，New York， city life was celebrated as invig-orating and exciting， a blank slate on which to startand strive. But now， many people in Beijing feel theethos of their city is more about frustration， whichbecame the theme of Beijing， Beijing， a Chinese songdedicated to migrant workers that won popularityamong groups higher up the socio-economicladder. In various research reports on the wellbeingof Chinese urban residents， Bei-Shang-Guangnever ranked among the top 10 on any happinessindex list.

　　Dream vs reality

　　Despite these frustrations， the first-tier cities neverreally lose their appeal to ambitious youth. Underlyingthis “fragmented dream，” the gap between dream andreality， the Beijing， Beijing lyric reads， “If one day I haveto leave， I hope to be buried here in the end， becausehere I can feel my existence， with too many things Ifeel enchanted with.” While the debate over “fleeingBei-Shang-Guang” is still being discussed， some of thosewho have fled are making their way back to big cities.

　　When Wang Yuancheng came to Shanghai in 2008as a new graduate from a university in Xi’an， his lifehere began with a job making 1，800 yuan ($293) permonth and sharing an apartment with eight otherpeople. But when Wang decided to leave the city fiveyears later， he was making 140，000 yuan ($22，800)per year.

　　Wang loves Shanghai for its fairness. “It doesn’tcare about your birth， education background， orfamily condition； the only thing that matters is youreffort，” he says.

　　To take care of his cancer-suffering mother， in2013 Wang went back to his hometown， a third-tiercity， but found it difficult to fit into the environmenthe once lived in for 20 years. He wrote down his4，000-word story on zhihu.com， a popular Chinesequestion-and-answer online forum， as an answerto the question “why people still stay in Bei-Shang-Guang when life is so hard.”

　　In his writing， Wang didn’t hide his disappointmentand listed things that he didn’t like about small cities：limited job options， nepotism in the working environmentand judgmental， narrow-minded people. Hefelt as if he were separated into two different worldsand missed the days of chasing dreams. His answerreceived 14，000 “likes.”

　　The “fleeing or not” dilemma seems to echo themetaphor for marriage by renowned Chinese writerQian Zhongshu， who compared marriage to a besiegedcity that people within want to get out， whileoutsiders want to get in.

　　Under such circumstances， it’s all about choice.When 25-year-old Xia Xia decided to leave Beijing forher hometown Kunming in southwest China， all herfriends and colleagues were shocked. They couldn’tunderstand why a play writer would possibly want toleave the capital city， China’s art and cultural center.Beijing is also home to leading media companies andcountless media outlets， while Kunming， half thesize of Beijing， is only famous for it spring weatherall-year-round.

　　But Xia was determined. “High salary， careersuccess， fancy apartment， can any one of those becompared with the fresh mushrooms sold along thestreet in the rainy season？” she asked. After six yearsof stress in the concrete jungle， all Xia now looks forwardto is to take it easy and live a simple life.

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